Paper Mario: Legend of the Star Rod
by Gantz Gun
Summary: An adaption of the original Paper Mario. Featuring my newest OC! Please read and review!
1. Prologue

Paper Mario

Legend of the Star Rod

Prologue: A Plea from the Stars

* * *

On a table in an unknown study, a mysterious book is seen. It was an odd little thing, a purple cover with a strange design in the center that looked like a Star at the end of a rainbow colored rod. The book just had this air of magic power that couldn't be denied, as a mysterious hand hovered near the book, one that was covered with a glove that looked almost akin to the night sky itself...

"_Today… I'm going to tell the story of Star Spirits and Good Wishes." _Chimed a mature female voice, as the hand turns the page revealing a beautiful starry night sky. Right in the center of it was what looked like a mysterious floating continent with a huge city sitting atop it. The buildings looked like they were made of night sky auras and clouds, with little figures that looked like stars floating around the town and twinkling in the night sky along with their cousins high up above in space. The town appeared to be held up by seven, giant, different colored stars. Strange in appearance but great in power, the stars twinkled peacefully with the other stars as they continued on with their duty.

"_Far, far away, beyond the sky, way above the clouds, it's been said that there's a haven where the stars live."_ The chiming female voice continued and one could almost feel a motherly smile in her voice. The page turns again, this time revealing a path and a staircase leading into what looked like a shrine right on the outskirts of the town. The shrine had somewhat of a heavenly radiance to it, safe and protected like that of a mother's womb. _"In the sanctuary of Star Haven, there rests a fabled treasure known as the 'Star Rod', which has the power to grant all wishes."_

The page turns once again showing the inside of the shrine, in the center of the shrine, on a pedestal, sat an ancient looking item. The ancient item was the exact same item from the cover of the book, sitting upright on the shrine and shining with an ancient and ethereal power, unlike anything anyone ever knew. Watching this ancient treasure, and sitting on pillars that circled the pedestal were mid-sized stars each holding a different a trait that separated them. One of the notable ones was a yellow star with a big white mustache, whom had this serene look on his face as he continued watching the Star Rod with his brothers and sisters. _"Using the powers of the wondrous Star Rod, the seven revered 'Star Spirits', watched over our peaceful world. Carefully… Very carefully."_

The page turned again, showing a picture of the shrine zoomed out and away from the Star Rod so as to capture more of the room as well as a few more of the seven revered Star Spirits...

However, there was something else there. There was a figure that appeared to be taped onto the page. It appeared as an old and frail looking creature dressed in purple mage robes, with a very distinctly turtlish looking head, wearing blue and purple glasses, and a purple steeple hat topping her head, and bleached white hair underneath said hat that appeared old, frizzled and thin. The creature, seemingly a koopa, appeared to be riding a broom-stick almost like a witch. _"And then… Oh dear… What the?"_ The hand wearing the starry-night glove reeled back in surprise, and the female voice appeared equally unsure about what was going on. _"Who stuck this weird thing into the story?"_

At that moment a weird energy surrounded the book and the female reading the book recieved a great big surprise as the characters in the book started moving around of their own volition.

The old koopa witch turned her head towards the outside of the page, gave an angry look, and yelled on the top of her lungs, shaking her fist. "I'M NOT WEIRD LOOKING!" The hand suddenly vanished as the female let out a loud grunt and hit the floor.

Just as soon as the hand was gone, a humongous shadow appeared on the outside of the page. It seemed to be riding on some kind of semi circle craft with helicopter blades on the bottom. "HA, HA, HA! Yeah! I did!" So deep and beast like was his voice, that it would be hard for anyone that hears it to forget it for the rest of their days. The comparison towards a dragon's voice wouldn't be too out of left field in this sense. "So I can, at long last, defeat my old archenemy Mario! I'll take this Star Rod!"

A huge clawed hand appeared and daintily turned the page, finding the next page to be a close up of the old koopa witch. "Do it Kammy Koopa!" Kammy raised her wand and energy started to charge. The energy had a sort of dark feel to it that almost felt old, tribal, almost eldritch in some odd fashion. There was a bright flash of light and powerful dark magic and in an instant a new character was floating in the air next to Kammy Koopa.

It was the same creature from outside the book and had been responsible for pushing aside the reader; The creature was revealed to be a koopa similar to Kammy Koopa in basic design, however he was much bigger and a lot meaner looking. The Koopa was huge and powerful looking standing at 8 feet easily, a giant compared to regular people, with a dark green turtle shell lined with white spikes that were both sharp and scary looking. Topping a dragon like head, dark green scales around the forehead area and tannish yellow around the muzzle, was an almost literal mane of fiery red hair that appeared both spikey yet still somehow well-kept, with yellowish horns on the side of his head like a bull. The rest of his body was made up of yellowish scales, his toes fingers lined with short but sharp claws, and his arms lined with black dog collar like latches with white spikes sticking out of them, another to be found on his neck. Almost contrasting with the intimidating image was the vehicle the beast was riding in. It almost looked like a pod in the rough shape of a semi-sircle, a clown face decorating the front with narrowed eyes and a creepy smile. The bottom of the semi-circle had a single set of helicoptor blades, that easily kept the beast aloft. The Star Spirits reeled back in surprise and fear, more then recognizing their attacker.

As soon as King Bowser Koopa made his entrance, the Star Spirits were suddenly attacked by strange bolts of dark energy from Kammy's wand, stopping them dead in their tracks and keeping them from making a move to stop them. As that happened, Bowser breathed a powerful jet of flames at the Star Rod, ridding it of the barrier that prevented anyone from touching the grand treasure. The starry gloved narrator returned and went to try and remove Bowser and Kammy... However they were now fully integrated into the book. _"No! You mustn't do that!"_ The narrator cried out desperately but Bowser refused to listen, reaching out and grabbing the Star Rod with that huge evil smile of glee on his face.

"Yeah! Now let's try using it!" Bowser said with a chortle as he held the Star Rod above his head. The Star Rod suddenly let out a powerful flash of energy as it recognized Bowser's unknown wish, and the energy released outward like a shockwave. The Shockwave blasted across the room until it hit all seven of the Star Spirits and seeming to enforce some sort of odd change on them. The Star Spirits struggled and struggled with all of their mights to resist this new change but were eventually overtaken; The heavenly beings were forcibly zoomed in and were imprisoned into their own individual card like seal that suddenly appeared around Kammy.

_"Stop it! Cut it out, Bowser! You're changing the story!"_ The narrator called trying again to remove Bowser and Kammy from the story, but it was impossible to stop Bowser from where she was. Soon all the Star Spirits were imprisoned, and the narrator could only watch on helplessly. This was now no longer a storybook... It was now a vision, an omen of bad things to come to the world...

"TE, HEH, HEH, HAH, HAH! We did it!" Kammy said; screeching with laughter at their victory.

"That was a piece o' cake!" Bowser said then laughed evilly. Having said that, his vehicle took off out of the shrine and disappeared to parts unknown, Kammy and the card prisons close behind him...

... The Narrator only watched a moment more before turning the page... She was aware that her audience looked just as scared as she was...

_"Now... Star Kids may rise to grant people's wishes, but those wishes will never come true… Whatever will they do?"_ She finished reading... The rest of the pages after appeared to be unwritten...

Waiting... Waiting for something to happen that may change the fate of the stars and that of the precious kingdom...

* * *

...

...

...

...

...

Really, for Zane T. things were not going all that well at all... He was having a wonderful little nights sleep, deciding to sleep in a little bit after some fights he got into with some resident Bzzaps, and managed to suffer quite a few stings before taking the bunch out. As such, after the doctor looked him over and removed some stingers, he confined the 16 year old Toad to his bed, and ordered him to rest off the injuries. Now that he was waking up however, he was capable of feeling a good amount of his body being incredibly sore once more. Letting out a mild explicitive that I dare not repeat in this written format, he slowly sat up, letting out a sigh. "Owowowowow... Dammit..."

Groaning, he slowly stood up out of his bed and walked about taking in the room. Looking down on himself, he found his white martial arts gii, black pants and blue shoes, which was in raggedy shape since his earlier standoff. It was in reasonable shape, but he'd likely need to ask sensei for a new one... He took slow but surprisingly steady steps as he approached the nearby sink and turned on the water. He let out a shiver as he splashed some water against his face waking him up better, and somewhat easing a sting on his cheek. However it had the effect of wetting some of his blonde bangs and making it stick to his forehead. Momentarily he hoped the water didn't get his mushroom cap which was white with black spots, wet as well, that would've been miserable... "Blegh... Okay... Avoid giant bees... Giant Bees bad... Right..."

Some minutes into his solitude, there came a sudden knocking on the door, catching the young toad's attention. With a sigh, he lowered his head. Really he didn't want anyone seeing him the way he was now, but... "Go ahead and come in..." He said solemnly, already knowing who it likely was. And just as he figured, the door opened and revealed an adult toad with that typical look; however, what seperated him from the others was the doctor's scrub he was wearing, on top of his white pants and brown shoes.

"So sorry to disturb you Zane, but I thought I might come in here and check up on you." He said simply and to the point. Whatever was worrying him, Zane could tell upon looking at him that it was no joke.

Still... Joke he did. Not really because he disrespected the doc, but because jokes was just how he responded to things at times. "Not much to check up on Doc. I still feel like crap after getting nearly every inch of me stung by those... Guuugh... Bzzaps..." Groaning, he finally seperated from the sink and turned to the doctor, leaning against the wall laxly. The smug grin on his face betrayed any sort of pretense of pain agonizing or otherwise.

"I'm surprised you can still stand up and walk after that honestly, you've only had one night's worth of rest you know..." The Doc appeared apprehensive given Zane was up and about.

The toad just waved him off. "Meh, I'm a trooper, I can take it..." The doctor let out a sigh and facepalmed. "Anyways, anything new doc?"

The Doctor looked to Zane seeming a little surprised. "Didn't you feel it? There was this sudden Earthquake not too long ago. Caused a bit of damage around town in fact." He looked Zane and the room over and found only a few of the things in the room had been disturbed. When Zane noticed this, he couldn't help but chuckle at the whole thing.

Crossing his arms with a smile, Zane smiled smugly, looking a bit full of himself. "Well I didn't feel anything... Musta slept through it." He said simply all the while crossing his arms. "That makes sense right?"

There was a moment of consideration before the doctor nodded to him, "Yes indeed it does. If someone is unconscious, they can miss any number of things. Though that all depends on how deep in their unconsciousness they are... I'm still quite surprised you missed feeling an Earthquake. I wouldn't have been surprised if the people in Toad Town felt that quake..." There was a moment of silence before he massaged his temples. "And now your up and about even though you are covered with Bzzap stings... You continue to befuddle me every day..."

Zane laughed a bit as started stretching, cricking a few bones back into place and irritating a few of his Bzzap stings. He winced quite a bit but kept at it. "Yeah, yeah, I try." He said through clenched teeth. It was like his sensei always said, learn from losses and grow stronger and smarter. The Bee-stings weren't ideal, but they were a good way to make him more pain tolerant. "Anyways, if you don't mind? I'd like a few minutes to get ready to go out and get the stuff sensei sent me out to get for him." He further emphasized this with a waving hand motion, shooing him away.

"I still think you should sit around and wait for the bzzap-stings to go away before you move around... But I shall go in anycases..." He turned to the door and opened it up. "Just remember... Don't push yourself out there. You're still hurt."

"Doc it's me! I can handle a little discomfort." The doc rolled his eyes and just walked out, closing the door behind him.

* * *

The Doctor left to find a group of goomba's awaiting him. However, rather then attack him, the goomba's appeared to ask him what was currently going on inside the building. As the doc starts talking to a Middle-aged goomba with a black mustache, the camera zooms out from said building and it takes in the town around the clinic. It was a rather small burg barely made up of three buildings. Two appeared to be residential houses, two stories tall for each one, while the Toad House took up the spot as the third building noticeable by the sign with the yellow mushroom and red cap decorating it along with the words 'Toad House' just underneath that.

Ah Goomba Village... Such a small little town to be sure. But to be fair, only one family lived here in the town, and it was still greatly overtaken by forests all around.

"So the boy was unharmed?"

As we zoom back into the Toad Doctor and the Middle-aged goomba, it is easy to tell they are in the middle of a heated discussion. The Toad Doctor sighed looking to be in disbelief. "Some of the items inside had fallen off of the shelves, but Zane appeared to be relatively unaffected." He couldn't help but smile and roll his eyes in disbelief. "Give him this, you can CERTAINLY tell that he's the Master's son." The middle-aged goomba was surprised at this, his thick black eyebrows raised in emphasis, but couldn't help but chuckle. He also knew about the 'Master', the famous martial arts expert that had opened up a dojo in Toad Town, and had taken in all kinds of students over the years...

However there was one incident not that long ago that made Zane... Different from the rest of them...

There was the sound of the door opening a few minutes later and out of the Toad House walked Zane, there was obvious difficulty in his steps, but he continued on proudly. The two had to give the kid this, he was not one to stay down that easy; Very much like his master indeed. The boy briefly looked to the conversing Toad House owner and the Goomba, whom he and the little goomba kids knew as Goompapa, and gave them a friendly wave. The two only stare sternly at him a moment before they sighed and went back to their conversation. Zane merely rolled his eyes at the look and kept on walking; not his fault that he wasn't going to let some Bzzap stings keep him bed-ridden. Sure a great percentage of his body was aching and in pain, but he could take it. Heck, he was glad to. No pain no gain as they say.

Still as he walked across town, his gaze on the woods just to the west of town, his mind wandered back to that... Odd dream he had the night before... _'Star Haven, Star Spirits... The Star Rod? ... And then there was Bowser... Jeeeeeze... Those Bzzap stings musta got to me harder then I thought...' _He thought to himself...

Deciding to shake it out of his head, Zane continued down the road. Because after all, a city for the stars? An Omnipowerful artifact? It just sounded like pure fantasy to him... He may have believed in the stars, but what he saw in his dream wasn't just overwhelming, it was very much beyond him... ... He jumped out of his thoughts when he brushed up against a branch from a near by tree, aggravating the Bzzap sting on his arm. He barely held in a few curses before he finally felt the feeling pass.

Even as he said that though, his mind traveled back to seeing Bowser in that dream... What was the significance of it? He had never met Bowser before and he had made no plans to meet him either. Leave that kind of stuff to Mario. He wasn't even sure, but he could feel a sense of dread building in his form... He quickly shoved it back down with a gulp (aggravating a Bzzap sting around the bottom of his chin). "Zane, you HAVE to get a grip on yourself. What you saw wasn't REAL. Bowser may be a bad guy, but what happened couldn't have happened." He took a breath. "This... Star Stick thing isn't real... So just... Stop worrying..."

After a moment, the feeling of dread passed by and he could finally smile when he felt comfortable once more (Or as comfortable as one could be when covered with Bzzap stings). "Hahahah, but still, Bowser getting his hands on that thing? Ooooooh, scary thought... Maybe I should forward that idea to an author or something. It'd make a hell of a good Mario story." He chuckled to himself as he took a step off of the street and into the woods-

No sooner did he take that first step then he was tackled clean into the ground, the pain from both the tackle and landing on the ground nearly knocking him clean out. Despite this, he quickly regained his senses and took in the thing, or person rather that had been responsible. Said person appeared to be a goomba, though this goomba was notably shorter then the other members of the Goomba family living in the village. This one was also notably female, which he could see from her slightly pink skin and the big pink bow on top of her head. It took Zane a moment to rack his brain back up, but after a moment, he remembered that this little one was none other then Goombaria, the youngest member of the family.

Goombaria was back on her feet in seconds, though it took Zane only slightly longer to follow her example. When he did, he carefully dusted off his jacket in an attempt not to aggravate any swelling. When done, he looked down to the little goomba, expression lifted in curiosity. "Jeeze squirt. What's the rush? You'd think there was a fire or something-"

Zane found a pair of invisible hands grab the tail of his jacket and yank up and down, shaking the young man with a great amount of vigor. All the while, Goombaria just looked FRANTIC as she continued shaking him. "NO FIRE! GET DAD, GOOMPA AND GOOMBARIO AND COME QUICK! YOU ARE **NOT** GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT IT FOUND OUT IN THE WOODS!" Her words were fearful... Heck, she was almost to the point of panicked tears.

Now in most cases, the young man would be inclined to believe that this was some sort of joke put together by Goombario and his sister... But he could more then tell that something was wrong. There was no way Goombaria could fake tried and true terror. Nodding quickly, the man stumbled back into town, yelling for the family members Goombaria had mentioned.

* * *

Gathering the family members took barely a few seconds when Zane came stumbling back into town with a huge sense of urgency, Goombaria right behind him and letting out her frantic screams as well. When they were all rallied up, the bunch quickly ran into the woods following Goombaria whom lead the way. Upon arriving in a small clearing not that deep in, Zane found Goombaria had been speaking the truth... To be perfectly and bluntly honest, he COULDN'T believe what he was looking at. The sight wasn't really anything foreign or even anything all that out there, but it's presence was not only odd, but just plain panic enducing.

Laying on the ground, face down in the dirt was what appeared to be a middle-aged man with a well pronounced black mustache on his face. This feature was seemingly even more pronounced by the tattered pair of blue overalls, which covered a red shirt, and ended with brown working boots down at the feet... Perhaps the most discernable trait about this gentleman was that atop a head of brown hair was a red work cap with a small white circle on the front which had a pronounced red 'M' in the center of it...

Zane had to rub his eyes and then pinch himself just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. However there was no way his imagination could come up with an illusion quite like this one. This was in fact, without a shadow of a doubt... was MARIO. The Famous, one and only, Mushroom Kingdom Hero Mario...

And to boot, the man looked like had had seen better days...

"H-HOLY SH-!"

"Quick! Let's get him to the Toad House!" This order had come from Goompapa which was met with his other family members nodding in agreement. They quickly walked up to the man and, working together, managed to pick him up, making great use of their invisible hands. The only one not helping was the Goomba known as Goombario, Goombaria's older brother and distinguishable by his blue baseball cap, but that was mainly because he just stood there staring at Mario's unconscious carcass. The concern on his face was undeniable, and everyone knew he had every reason to. It didn't help that Goombario was a big die-hard Mario fan.

Knowing they would have to act fast, Zane approached Goombario, trying his best to contain his panic. "Hey, it'll be okay." The toad said, placing a hand on Goombario's head to catch his attention. "We just need to get him to the Toad House and we can get him looked at. We can't afford to panic here." He walked over to Mario and quickly helped the Goombas in lifting him. "Now Goombario, mind coming over here to help us?"

That seemed to wake the young Goomba up and he quickly nodded, determination showing in his eyes. "Yeah! Let's help Mario!"

And thus began a slow trip back into Goomba Village...

* * *

Many concerns were apparent in the eyes of Mario's rescuers, but they saved their breath for the job at hand. It took some work, but the group finally found their way back to the Goomba Village and managed to get Mario into the Toad House. The owner of the establishment had been prompt in getting Mario inside so he could rest on a bed, and he could get to work on examining his injuries. As this happened, the Goomba family and Zane took to doing their own thing outside. Goompapa and an elderly goomba that appeared similar to him save his whitened hair chatted between each other, looking very nervous. Meanwhile Goombario and Goombaria were actually getting acquainted with Zane... Odd how that worked since the young man had arrived in their village with a splash and yet they were not introduced.

They appeared to be trading interests and the like for a bit (Zane doing it to help them take their mind off of the current situation), before the Toad House owner left the house again an hour or so later. When they heard the door the kids turned to the Doc, their eyes wide with worry, Goombario especially. "W-Well Doc? Is he going to be okay?"

Doc took off his face mask and looked among the numbers there expecting news from him. At first he held a frown on his face and all was quiet. "Well, he has a few claw marks, is suffering from several third degree burns, and he seems to be experiencing quite a bit of trauma..." The Goomba kids looked down to the ground likely expecting the worst... However Doc smiled, "But... AMAZINGLY, I believe he's going to be alright."

Goombario and Goombaria gave the doc a HUGE smile of relief, looking like huge lead weights had been taken off of their shoulders... Or whatever they had that counted as shoulders. Zane let out a breath of relief as well. "See? I told ya he'd be okay." The toad said with a look of assurance. Sure he was worried, hell he was very worried, but he took comfort in knowing that no-one was dead.

As it turned out, the work it took to get Mario to the Toad House had worked away quite a few of the hours so when that news was shared, the sun was already going down and was growing closer and closer to it's sunset position. Life wasn't entierly the same after those past few hours, and after everything had been said and done, Zane sat himself down at the foot of the tree and let out a sigh... AGH PAIN. At least until the adrenaline rush vanished ant the pain from his Bzzap stings had come back in full force. "Yep... Giant bees HURT... OW..."

"Zane! Oh Zane there you are."

When the toad looked up, he found Doc looking down at him taking in his ailing form with great fascination. "Oh... Heya Doc... What's up?"

"Don't you what's up ME young man. Smug bouts of confidence do not do a good job in hiding pain, and you obviously have plenty to spare." He sighs as he bends down and looks over the stings. "Jeeze look at them. I'm surprised you helped the goomba family get Mario into the village with how badly off you must be..." He chuckles and shakes his head. "It makes me feel even worse given the news I have to share."

"News?" Zane wasn't sure he liked the sound of that.

"Yes, it has come to my attention that Mario is so far taking up the only free bed in the Toad House. We don't really have any more room."

... FRICK. "Oh... Oh now that's just AWESOME." The sarcasm was VERY apparent.

Of course, Doc easily caught the sarcasm and sighed. "I apologize. But you more then understand, Goomba Village is very small, there's not a lot of need for a lot of extra space and such. Normally I make house calls and the Toad House is for extreme emergencies only. I apologize deeply and sincerely for this, but we need to find you another room to spend the night in since Mario will be taking your old bed." He looked to the toad as he said this. "But I'm not really sure if the Goomba Family has any more free beds-"

"Nah, nah, don't even worry about it Doc." Zane slowly got up and looked at the crossing his arms. "You bring me my backpack? I've got a hammock in there that I can set up. I can sleep in a hammock until Mario heals up."

That seemed to get quite a bit on unassuredness out of the Doc as he gave Zane a dark blue backpack. "A Hammock? I'm not sure how comfortable that might be for you given your current condition..." Zane didn't answer back to the man as he pulled out said hammock and quickly unfolded it, wincing all the while. " I mean, I'm sure we can think of something better if you will give us time-"

Zane waved the Doc off and proceeded to fix up the Hammock between two trees not that far off from the tiny town's square. "Don't even worry about it, okay? Like I said, I'm a trooper. I'll manage."

... Finally letting out that exasperated sigh, the Doc finally decided to leave it at that. "Okay... Thank you Zane... I'm sure Mario will appreciate this later, if that's any consolation." Zane didn't answer back, as he just crawled into his hammock. Really, he wasn't trying to be rude. He was just too tired, too irritable, and too littered with pain to do or say anything productive.

When the Doc walked away, Zane just lay there looking up at the skies above as the sun slowly disappeared over the horizon... As he did, his mind traveled back to the dream he had the night before... Inwardly? He was freaked. He wasn't sure how, but he somehow knew that dream was connected to why they found Mario laid out in that forest clearing... He wanted to dismiss the thought as absolutely RIDICULOUS, but for some reason he just couldn't... The timing was just too perfect...

When at last exhaustion caught up with him, he passed out on the hammock, soundlessly falling asleep...

* * *

The image was almost unbearable… It showed a grand hallway, probably one from the Mushroom Kingdom castle. The hallway was tattered, the rug was disheveled, the walls had scorch marks, and in the center of the hall, where one of the biggest windows was, well more like used to be, four figures stood. One figure, unmistakably Mario, was lying on the floor, out cold. The second figure was a beautiful woman wearing a radiant pink dress, had long flowing blonde hair, a crown on her head, and diamond slippers stood next to where Mario was out on the floor, her hands were to the sides of her face in panic. This was the unmistakable figure of the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess 'Peach' Toadstool. She screamed in panic. "Oh no! Mario! Please get up!"

The other figures there were more recognizable. They were none other then Bowser and Kammy Koopa. Bowser seemed to be celebrating something, and Kammy was sitting on her floating broom, looking with pride at Bowser. "Yahoo! I did it! I finally beat my old rival Mario! YEEEEEESSSSS!"

Kammy chuckled and started to congratulate the Koopa King. "Congratulations on your victory, your Viciousness! That's why you're the king!" Having said that Kammy's screeching laughter came after it.

Bowser turned to look at Kammy and pulled out the one item that helped him win this battle… The Star Rod. "So long as I have this Star Rod, any wish I make, comes true! I'm now invincible!" After that gloat, he turned to the beaten hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. "Well I might as well get rid of Mario… He's no good to anyone now that's for sure." Bowser suddenly lifted up the Star Rod; it flashed with almighty power, and from a lightning bolt flashed down and slammed Mario. The force knocked the poor plumber out the big broken window.

As he flew outside, there was a sight of the Mushroom Kingdom Castle's current plight. It was sitting on a big stone castle that resembled Bowser, riding his clown hover cart, and both were hovering above the clouds! Mario continued falling to earth below, as Peach went to the broken window and gave her final plead to Mario. "Oh no! MARIOOOOOO!" As she continued screaming Kammy turned to a patrol of armor wearing koopa's called the Koopatrols.

"You there, take Princess Peach to her room immediately!" The Koopatrols nodded and obeyed their order without question. Meanwhile outside Mario had continued his descent to the ground below… He kept on falling…

And falling…

And falling…

And falling…

Until he finally disappeared into the clouds, to continue his plummet to the ground…

* * *

Zane awoke with a start... And immediately regretted it. His hammock swung a bit and sent him reeling to the ground. "GGGOOOOOOOW...!" He slowly pulled himself back onto the hammock and lay back down on it lightly, just taking the moment to curse whoever was listening for his lousy luck. When he felt better, he took to immediately thinking about the dream he had... It was now well into the night from what he could see and a blanket was draped around him to keep him warm, likely a gift from the Doc or anyone from the Goomba Family; either way it was greatly appreciated...

He continued looking up to the sky, taking in the stars as they twinkled beautifully in the night... Alost as if to try and comfort him...

"It... It was just a dream... It was just... It was just a dream..."

But for some reason, that little nagging doubt persisted, never once leaving him alone...


	2. Getting Started

Paper Mario

Legend of the Star Rod

Chapter.1. Getting Started

* * *

A couple of days had passed since the people of Goomba Village came across a thoroughly beaten Mario in that forest clearing, and ever since then, the Goombas of Goomba Village had committed themselves to the hard work of repairing the damage caused by the earthquake. Goompapa was busily trying to repair the gate that lead in and out of the village, showing the task rather meticulous caring for detail on such a simple job. Meanwhile Goompa was out behind his house, fixing the Veranda that hung over the edge of the cliff that their house sat neatly on. Things passed by in silence as all went on, Mario remaining asleep in the Toad House.

However, one good thing that came out of the passing of time was that Zane was eventually back on his feet. Thanks to the Doc's treatments, the Bzzap stings that littered Zane's body were now mostly gone, and the toad could now freely move about the village. Okay, he still had a few more welts left, but those were from the particularly more potent stings, and even then those were fading away nicely. When all was said and done, he quickly rushed to help either of the Goomba elders only to find that they were both just about finished with their chores, so the help wouldn't really be required.

Zane couldn't really complain about having nothing to do though, when he returned from talking with Goompa, he found Goombaria and Goombario awaiting him. Apparently eager to get to know the toad better. Well Goombaria mostly on that note, but Goombario definately shown interest as well. It had been an interesting conversation right up until Goombaria suddenly tagged Zane and both she and Goombario took off running.

And thus the game of tag was on.

"Tag! You're it!" Zane said as he easily caught Goombario and took off the other way. Goombario sported a competitive smile before he quickly chased after the Toad. Goombaria meanwhile let out a squeal and quickly took off in the other direction when she saw her older brother coming.

Laughing all the while, Zane kept ahead of the goomba kid. Though both Toads and Goombas lacked real leg length, both kept up a decent speed, which was something that confused 'certain people' for a long time- [DAMMIT STEVEN DON'T MENTION US] a testament to their own exercise regiments. After a few moments, Zane quickly turned to his left and completely avoided a tag from the young goomba. Seeing that just outright chasing him wasn't going to work, Goombario decided to change his target and quickly started chasing down Goombaria.

When Zane saw that Goombario wasn't following him anymore, he stopped where he was and proceeded to lean on the wall of the Goomba Family home and watch the proceeding cuteness, taking a moment to catch his breath all the while. Trained as he was, he was by no means prepared to play around with kids, they were a lot more energetic then he was, and that energy was quite contagious. "Phew…"

"Gotcha Goombaria! Hahahaha!" Goombario quickly took off running as soon as he tagged his little sis, leaving the girl to look for her next target. Smiling giddily, her eyes landed on Zane and she quickly rushed to him as he fought for his second wind. "Uh-oh! Hey Zane! Heads up!"

The Toad quickly looked to find Goombaria rushing up to him, attempting to tag him. Thankfully for him, he had gained his second wind and quickly ran off to avoid the goomba girl as she chased after him energetically. The Martial Artist kept ahead of the girl for a while, dodging her invisible hand, even jumping over her with a front flip. "Hey! No fair Zane! Let me catch you!"

"Hey the best things in life don't come free kid! You gotta earn catching me!" Zane grinned as he landed and went running. "Sides, I'm gettin' some much needed exercise from this!" He laughed as he kept ahead, his strides bigger than the little girl-

TRIP! Zane's eyes widened.

THUD! And the faceplant he performed was a perfect 10 pointer. "OW OW OW OW."

There was a moment when Goombaria walked up to Zane to take in his spill and look him over… "…" Before tagging him. "You're it!"

"Yeah… Thanks… I hadn't noticed…."

Groaning, he gets up, wiping the dirt off his face and rubbing the remaining areas where some bee-stings remained (Mostly around his right arm, his left calve and, the one hurting most at that moment, the one on his left cheek.). "Shhh-" He noticed Goombaria and quickly held his tongue. "For the love of-… That really hurt… What did I trip over?" He looked to his feet…

And found a Goomnut, a food item that was common in Goomba village. Normally these nuts resembled acorns and were certainly small, but oh what luck! He had found one of the bigger ones which more resembled a Chestnut. It was about as big around as a basketball.

….. "Well… That's ironic…" He reached to it and picked it up. "I literally trip over the thing I was sent to this town to find… Too bad it's only one." He chuckled sarcastically.

Upon seeing the trip, Goombario had quickly rushed over as well to take in the damage. "You okay Zane?"

The toad nodded and spit out some dust, "Yeah… Ate some dust but I should be fine…" He continued looking at the Goomnut. "Still, this IS a bit of a wake-up call… I should really consider picking some Goomnuts and returning back to the dojo." He groans as he gets back on his feet. "Gonna need more than just the one though."

Looking to the Toad curiously, Goombaria seemed unsure about something. "You came here looking for Goomnuts? What do you need them for?"

"I think that's obvious." There was a grin on Goombario's face as he walked up, taking the spotlight. "Goomnuts are a very useful item. While a little hard on the teeth, ingesting one is known to reinvigorate the eater, kinda like giving him a quick burst of energy." He chuckled, "It is my educated guess that you're picking these up because your sensei is planning on going on a big hike sometime soon, and is bringing his students along?"

… Zane had to admit it, he was impressed. "Right right and even more right. Sweet stars kid, you are one smart cookie. How'd you figure that out on your own?" The toad could be seen stowing away the nut into his pocket as he asked this question.

The proud smile on the boy's face was unmistakable. "Oh that's easy, you see-"

As Goombario went into his speech, some of it centered around an odd book he was carrying, Doc watched the scene from afar, taking it all in. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, taking in what he had seen deeply… _'Very odd… Sure he has a few odd bee-stings left, but that's never hurt him before… Tripping over that Goomnut seemed a bit clumsy. Even for Zane.'_ He thought some more on this, seeing more logic prop up the more he thought about it. Doc could definitely see some signs of mild…. Sleep deprivation? Who could say… Still, the Doc sighed a bit before shrugging. _"Meh, oh well… Guess there's not much I can do… That boy is secretive if any__thing… I better go check up on Mario… I'll worry about this some more once I know he's okay.'_ With that thought process ended, he turned and walked towards the Toad House, intent on following through with that thought…

"And THAT is how I know what you needed the Goomnuts for. My trusty Tattle-log is very detailed."

….. Zane could only stand there, jaw agape. "Yeah, I'll say…" He looked to Goombaria, whom shrugged to him herself. "And you say you read that thing 3 FRICKEN TIMES?!"

"Word-for-word." He smiled, looking proud of himself. "I do want to go out on an adventure someday, afterall. I think it pays to know more about the world around you."

… The toad supposed he couldn't argue with that. "Good point…" With a sigh and a shake of his head, he looked around. "So ANYWAYS, you say that Goomnuts grow in the trees near your house?" When he was responded to with a nod, Zane nodded back. "Okay thanks. I'll go grab a few and prepare to make my way back to Toad Town."

"Awwww!" He looked to Goombaria, whom just had the cutest looking puppy-dog eyes. "Do you really have to go so soon, Zane?"

There was a chuckle, before the toad patted Goombaria on the head. "Sorry Goombaria, but sensei's probably expecting me back by now, I should really get this chore done soon…" He noted her sad expression. "But hey! We'll see each other again sometime soon! Count on it!"

Goombaria eventually accepted this and allowed the Toad to go on his way. As he did, he watched as she and her older brother continued their game of tag along the lawn of Goomba Village, just making tracks all over. There was a playful chortle as he waved the sight off. "Eh… Kids…"

Zane had been quick to find the Goomnut trees and to climb up them. It had been a difficult climb, what with the remaining Bzzap stings, but he managed to get to the top-most branch and started picking. As he continued with this simple task however, his mind began to wander…

To the explanation Goombario gave him about his 'Tattle-log' (Boy what an overly complicated explanation THAT was).

To the Doc and his stubborn insistence that something appeared to be wrong with him (Though to the Doc's credit, the Goomnut trip had been a pretty notable blunder…

Then… On to WHY he tripped…

The Doc had been right of course, and Zane was not too convinced that he didn't need some sort of help. In the days that followed finding Mario in that forest clearing, Zane… Well…

The nightmares he had had on that day turned out to be but the first. Ever since that day, other nightmares followed. The one the day after finding Mario woke him up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, and he could barely convince himself to fall back to sleep. The nightmare the day after that damn near traumatized him and he scarcely talked to anyone in an attempt to not seem nervous…

Then… There was the nightmare just from last night. The reason why he had been slightly lower on energy to spare, and which had apparently hindered his perception of the world around him, keeping him from sensing the Goomnut until it was too late.

…. Knowing he was out of sight, he allowed himself to shudder VIOLENTLY at the memory.

* * *

_Inferno…_

That was the one word that could be used to perfectly describe the scene.

A raging inferno, the likes of which the depths of Hell would be hard-pressed to match.

What would make it even more horrifying was that there was ruins amidst the lava covered, almost volcanic regions, houses that was once the innocent city of Toad Town could be seen, burnt to cynders and dangling over the edge of the rocks, threatening to fall into the molten magma flow. On the more stable rocks, he remembered seeing people… People of every shape, size and veritable description being dragged off to the Stars only knew where… And Zane hoped to God the dream wouldn't further go into that detail; on what fate awaited the people at the end of their forced pilgrimage.

Thankfully, the dream found that scenario none too interesting and instead, decided to focus on the central volcanic pit in the center of all of the madness

_...__ Something appeared to be hovering almost 15 stories over the volcanic pit…__What he saw nearly made him jump awake screaming._

It was Bowser's Castle. He could tell because the monolithic structure resembled the Koopa King in his flying clown dirigible, the arms replaced with spiked balls on chains swinging back and forth idly. And on top of the structure was none other than Peach's castle, a sight he saw many times during his morning jogs around Toad Town. What struck him however was some tiny details surrounding the whole thing…

For instance, both castles appeared to be weathered and aged, as if they had been there for much longer than a couple of years.

_While the sheer horror of that thought rocked Zane to the core, he found himself almost flown into Peach's castle so he could take in what it looked like on the inside. He was now in the throne room, and it was just as disheveled and broken as the rest of the castle was as if from years of miss-use. The rug bearing the proud red and yellow colors of the Mushroom Kingdom was burnt and torn, several holes were in the nearby walls that looked like they had been blasted by Bob-ombs or Bullet Bills and the windows were shattered and missing, leaving only the frames remaining and allowing the molten hot air from the ground far below to seep in._

He then felt himself forcibly turned to take in the throne… However… The throne was covered entirely in shadows….

Horrible eyes pierced out of the darkness and a wicked grin with wicked teeth appeared.

"ENJOYING THE VIEW?"

The voice was unmistakable…

Bowser…

But… Something just… Felt..

Off…

"I HOPE YOU DO. I WANT YOU TO TAKE A GOOD LONG LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE TO GET USED TO. THIS IS NOW YOUR HELL!

Then came that laughter…

Oh that horrible laughter…

And then the jet of flames, which appeared from the shadows…

Zane could almost make out a positively demonic looking Bowser and a weathered, wrinkled, and red-eyed (Likely from crying) Princess Peach, both sitting in their thrones before the flames engulfed him completely.

And that final haunting image remained in his mind since then…

* * *

He had managed to put it aside when he went about his day, playing with the kids and so forth, but… It always found a way of sneaking back to him… The image just shook him to the core. "Bowser… Ruling the Mushroom Kingdom…" The toad shuddered to himself as he collected another Goomnut. "What… What the hell did I eat last night to make such a horrible illusion? That was just…. I don't even WATCH horror movies either…"

A moment later he smacked himself upside the face. _'Zane, get a hold of yourself man. It was just a dream… A crazy, horrific, realistic, nightmarish dream…'_ Groaning, he massaged his temples… Indeed a moment later, he realized his backpack was now chock FULL of Goomnuts. Overcollection? What's that? "…. Yeah… I'm gonna have to put some of these back…"

"EVERYONE! Mario's finally awake!"

Zane was so surprised by the Doc's announcement that he accidentally smacked his backpack out of the tree sending the majority of the Goomnuts flying around the shrubbery. "OH DARNIT!"

"Mmmmmm~! Aaaah…. Well, that was a nice nap…"

As Zane descended the tree, we turn our attention now to the famous Super Mario, whom walked out of the Toadhouse, closing the door behind him. As he did he took in his surroundings, taking a moment to get a grip on just where he was and what was going on. He noted the Goomba's nearby, particularly Goombario and Goombaria whom were within view of the Toadhouse. "Are you sure you are okay to walk around Mario sir?" The Italian Plumber turned to see the Doc. "You have been out of it for a couple of days. It would not be surprising if you are disoriented."

The Plumber sighed and shrugged. "I should be-a fine… I just-a need to get back into the jist of-a things." The plumber stretched some more as he took in the area. "Where am-a I, anyways?"

"You are in Goomba Village, Mario. Nice place isn't it?"

"Goomba Village… Isn't that the tiny little town just on the outskirts of Toad Town? I've-a heard of it before now, but this is the first time I've seen-a it." Mario almost looked a bit confused. "You tell me you-a found me near here?"

The doc nodded, looking somber. "Indeed. One of the Goomba children found you in the forest clearing not too far away from here." He looked and noticed Goombario and Goombaria nearby and pointed to them. "Those are the two children over there. The one that found you is Goombaria, the little girl. The boy is Goombario, her older brother."

That seemed to catch Mario's attention. "Goombario?"

A chuckle later and the Doc answered back the likely question. "Oh yes of course! Well you see, Goombario's parents actually named him after you, you see. I believe they did that because they wished that he may live up to your example. The boy has quite the hero worship of you due to that. But of course, that's probably nothing you haven't heard before right?" Mario chortled with him; indeed it had not. In fact, In just the last month alone he had gotten the chance to meet 30 kids who looked up to him. Rather embarrassing, but quite flattering all the same.

After wishing Doc a thanks and a farewell, Mario walked over to the Goomba kids and greeted them. Goombario's reaction was pretty close to what Mario had expected.

"Huh?! Oh! Mario! Hi there! My name's Goombario! I'm your biggest fan!" Mario couldn't help but blush at this. Goombaria appeared to be equally in awe. "I've read about all of your adventures around the world! You've been everywhere! And you always get the best of the Bad-guys! Every time! You're the coolest! I wanna be just like-" The kid quickly stopped himself before he finished that sentence, now blushing a fair red. "Oop..! Sorry, I didn't mean to freak out like that."

Mario merely laughed good naturedly and patted the Goomba on the head. "Ah nothing to-a worry about Goombario, always a pleasure to-a meet a fan." He looked to Goombaria, almost expecting her to freak out similarly. "And you? What's-a your name?"

Goombaria smiled at how kind Mario was and nodded her head. "Hi there. My name is Goombaria! It's nice to meet you mister!"

"It's a pleasure to-a meet you-a too miss! Probably pretty lucky on-a my part too considering you're the-a one who helped me out-a." He noted the look she gave him. "The Doctor told-a me."

Goombaria flushed pink, looking rather cute. However since she was naturally pink, it was hard to tell. "Oh that? I didn't really do that much… I just found you in the woods and ran back here to get Daddy, Goompa and Goombario."

"And after that, we carried you into the village." Goombario eagerly threw in. He really hoped this would impress his hero. "It was tough work, but we managed it."

Mario nodded and tipped his cap. "Either way, I should-a thank you-a both. You really-a helped me out. If there's-a anything I can do for you in-a return, you just-a let me know sometime alright-a?" The Goomba kids nodded in excitement which prompted a smile from Mario before he excused himself to go… Though not before getting stopped by Goombario so the kid could procure an Autograph.

With that done, Mario quickly made his way to the town gate, a purpose seemingly in his expression, he failed to notice a bunch of rustling in the bushes nearby. Instead, he found the town gate, where Goompapa worked diligently to repair it. As the plumber greeted the father of the Goomba family, Zane reappeared from the brush, grumbling as he wore his backpack now filled to the brim with Goomnuts. "Well that took longer than I wanted…" As he walked out, he noted Mario talking to Goompapa nearby. "…. Hmmm…" After a moment, he grinned. It looked like today just got a lot more interesting…

"Hey there!"

Mario and Goompapa turned and found Zane walking up to them waving at them. "How goes it you guys?"

Mario looked to Zane curiously, unsure of what to make of the toad, from the black spots on his mushroom hat, the martial arts gii, the black jeans and the blue shoes. Black and blue was not exactly a comforting color coordination. "Hmm? Who are-a you?"

Deciding to step in, Goompapa smiled at the new arrival. "You don't know? Hehe, Mario, say hello to Zane. From what I hear, he's the son of the Toad Town Dojo's Master."

"Yep. Pleasure to finally meet the Superstar of the Mushroom Kingdom." He held out his hand.

Mario took Zane's hand and shook it. "Like-awise." Once he was done, he looked to the toad thoughtfully, taking him in. "Though, forgive me, I didn't know the Dojo Master had a son all things considered." That made sense, the Dojo Master was well into his late 90's. Pretty darn old all things considered.

The toad merely shrugged. "Well, it's really more along the lines of him taking me in actually. I'm not literally his son, of course." Grinning more so, he crossed his arms. "He's been as good as a father to me though, don't misunderstand me. He's even taught me a lot of his tricks too. I'm educated in Tae-Kwan-Do, Ju-Jitsu and Karate. Self-defense at it's finest so I hear."

The plumber could tell; Zane appeared pretty tough. "So I can-a see." With a nod, he turned back to Goompapa. "Anyways with that said, I need to get back to Toad Town as soon as possible sir, think I can get through here?" This seemed to pique Zane's curiosity as he looked to the Plumber.

The mid-aged Goomba let out a sigh. "Sorry to tell you Mario, but I'm a little busy at the moment fixing up the gate. Perhaps you can wait a little bit?" He nods. "I understand that you have to leave immediately for Shooting Star Summit, I get that much from what you told me, but I can promise you I'll have it fixed up in a jiffy."

Mario nodded briskly, his best patient expression on his face. "Okay, I understand. Thank you."

"Hold on." The Plumber turned to Zane whom was now looking at him curiously. "Shooting Star Summit? You're heading to Shooting Star Summit? What for?"

The plumber sighed and quickly took a breath. "Look paisano. While I was-a unconscious, I was told by a big yellow star with a mustache to-a go to Shooting-a Star Summit. Some really big stuff is going down, and whatever this star wants to tell me must be important."

…. Zane let out a groan. "Right, yeah, sure…" Mario looked a little surprised at this before Zane looked back to him. "Well, in anycases, you're heading back to Toad Town anyway. Mind if I join you when you leave? It might be good to have a traveling companion to make the trip safer." The toad showed Mario his right arm where the Bzzap sting could be seen. "My trip over here was hindered by a bunch of Bzzap, so you understand what I'm getting at."

There was a notable wince in Mario's expression, before he nodded. "Yes, that-a makes sense." … The plumber's smile finally returned and he nodded. "Very well then, though-a if I might-a say so, I look-a forward to seeing what you-a can do in a fight-a. You-a sound very capable."

"You do too." Zane said with a grin. "I'd love to see some poor suckers try to stop us if they get in our way."

Neither knew it at the time, but this would be the start of an unorthodox partnership, an understanding of traveling, soon to become so much more…


	3. The People Zane won't Tolerate

Chapter .2.

The People Zane won't Tolerate

* * *

"Hoo what a job! Sorry to keep you waiting boys! The gate is finally fixed!"

A few minutes must have passed while Zane and Mario decided to accompany each other to Toad Town, and the two had decided to pass the time by talking with Goombario and Goombaria. Goombario, of course, was uber jealous of Zane being able to travel with the world famous Mario (Which the toad then milked for a few laughs). When Goompapa finally called, the bunch gathered at the town gate, the kids likely doing as such to see the two adventurers off. Goompapa meanwhile seemed to do the same thing, smiling as well. "It's only too bad you can't stay... I feel like I just met you! But duty calls, I know. Come back and visit if you can." The Goomba father said.

Mario nodded at this. "Sure, that sounds-a good! I'd be more then-a happy to come back sometime-a." He looked to Zane to see that the toad was readjusting his grip on his backpack.

"I'll definitely come back myself when I can. This town is a pretty nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Toad Town." He chuckles, "Plus the people here are definitely nice enough." He turns to look to Goombario and Goombaria. "So don't you worry about that kids."

Goombario and Goombaria nod eagerly before waving them off. "Good luck Mario!" Goombario appeared excited as he held his tattle-log signed by Mario.

"Best of luck!" And so was Goombaria, who would be able to brag to any friends she made in the future that she met Mario along with her brother.

Mario and Zane waved the two off as well and took a step towards the gate…

"HEEEE, HEHEHEHEHEHE!"

The bunch jumped up and quickly looked up into the sky. Zane more than recognized that laughter, and it was likely Mario did as well… Hovering down from the sky above, flying on an odd purple broom, a weathered old creature, obviously of the koopa race appeared, circling the village before coming to a stop on the otherside of the gate, hovering about 12 feet off of the ground…

Mario was now on edge as he curled his fingers into a fist. "Kammy Koopa!"

Kammy grinned and tittered at the introduction, almost sounding like the traditional witch that she was. "AH…. So my prediction was correct… Mario!" She looked severely displeased as she looked down at him. "I can't BELIEVE you're back on your feet after the beating you took from King Bowser! You are definitely sturdier than I thought you would be. Kamek does your descriptions no justice."

The arrival had caught the attention of everyone visible in the town square. Goombaria and Goombario looked on at the sight, the goomba kid standing in front of his sister protectively. Goompa had taken a step back out of nervousness but had a clear look of defiance in his eyes. Zane meanwhile? "Who's the ole gargoyle with the shag rug on her head?"

…. Kammy looked slackjawed at what she had just heard. The Goombas and Mario meanwhile looked to him in surprise. A moment later, Mario chuckled under his breath. "I'll admit-a… That is actually a very accurate description."

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME YOU LITTLE FUNGUS?!" Where Mario looked amused, Kammy's reaction was, as many might have guessed, the exact opposite. "You rude little-! I am a beautiful koopa with a beautiful name! Kammy Koopa!"

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you a GARGOYLE your magickiness." Zane crossed his arms. "I guess the better description would've been an 'Old warthog wearing musty old textiles and riding one of the oldest cliché's in the book'. Am I more in the ballpark there ya ole 'BAT'?"

Kammy growled and grinded her teeth, "You… WHY YOU LITTLE! WHY I OUGHTA-..!" It was pretty apparent that Kammy was doing everything in her power NOT to pull out her wand and start conjuring up spells up the wazoo. "Grrr… Oh how I would LOVE it if I had time to teach you a lesson you little brat… But no, my schedule is far too tight to waste time with an immature punk like you… Instead, I am here only to deliver a message from m'lord Bowser."

"Yeah sure! Whatever helps ya sleep better and keeps your ego in check, ya Wicked Witch wannabe." Kammy's hand reached for her wand and she quickly pulled it out. Everyone jumped back, ready to go at a moment's notice.

"MARIO… THIS MESSAGE IS FOR YOU…" After taking a moment to fume and recollect her cool, she turned to Mario, pointing her wand at him. "I have been sent to make sure that you will not be able to come and stop him… But of course, even if you did, you would lose that time just like you did last. As you have seen King Bowser is much more powerful then he even YOU can deal with this time!" She grins evilly as she lifted her wand upward. "As such, the idea of you fighting him any further is ridiculous! Laughable even! And since King Bowser wants you to see what he will do with the world in the future, he has given to me a gift to give to you!"

Dark energies started to fill Kammy's wand, and as it did, it left an odd feeling in the back of Zane's mind. It was truly something else watching the Koopa Clan's dark Magic at work, it just felt spooky, eerie… Wrong…

When the magic started to pool together, it seemed to take shape, looking like something square and impassable. She then lifted the object up… And swung her wand back down.

THUD!

The population of the village jumped as a HUMONGOUS Block appeared, squishing the town gate underneath it. Zane and Mario took in the damage wide-eyed before looking up to Kammy, whom was grinning and now looking quite proud of herself. "Mario… You will kneel and WEEP at the wonderful changes King Bowser will make! YOU'RE WORLD IS OUR'S NOW!"

And that was all she said before soaring off, her shrieking laughter echoing across the sky…

All was silent at this as the people took in the new obstical… Goompapa was the first one to say anything. "Grrr… I just FIXD that gate…." He looked VERY annoyed. "Nobody say 'gate' to me please…"

Mario nodded in understanding at this as Zane approached and knocked on the block. "…. Solid…. Well.. THIS IS JUST GREAT…" He looked to Mario. "I don't think I could break this if I tried. It's too big for me to smash…"

With a groan, Goombario walked up to the scene. "It gets worse. That's the only safe way out of Goomba Village and onto the road to Toad Town. Any other route is still heavily forested, and covered with natural wildlife… Which Zane ended up learning about when he first came here."

"Yeah, I am NOT going to suffer more Bzzap stings just cause some old GARGOYLE RIDING A BROOM blocked the only way back home." As Zane said that, Mario took in the block. It would have been simple enough jumping over it. However, that apparently would do nothing to help the people of Goomba Village. They needed this gateway opened.

Speaking of gateway, Goompapa took in the splintered remains of his old gate, "All of that hardwork… Gone…" There came a suddenly growl of anger as he lifted his head and looked skyward. "Kammy Koopa that fiend! What I wouldn't give to teach that old bat a lesson! What was she even talking about anyway?!"

"I can expain-a…"

…. No-one liked the regret they heard in Mario's voice. Zane stopped ranting under his breath and looked to Mario along with the rest of the Goomba family present, concern building on their faces. "You-a see… Bowser has-a kidnapped Princess Peach again." The Goomba kids gasped at this, while Zane and Goompapa's eyes widened. "I was actually there to witness it-a too… I tried to-a stop him, but he-a had a strange item with him that made him completely unstoppable." He let out a sigh and looked to the block. "That's why I-a have to get to Shooting Star Summit. Something there-a must know more-a about this… Star Rod he-a called it."

The goomba's looked to each other confused. It was obvious they had never heard of such a thing…

Zane's reaction however, was a lot different.

He was putting a lot of effort to keep his breathing even, his eyes wider then ever as he backed away from the scene… While his body was suffering from something marginally close to a heart attack, his brain was flashing back to all of the nightmares he had had before today. The one coming into mind the most being the one he had the night after they had found Mario.

* * *

_**"So long as I have this Star Rod, any wish I make comes true! I'm now invincible!"**_

* * *

He continued backing up, his mind now going back to the nightmare he had just last night…

* * *

_**"I WANT YOU TO TAKE A GOOD LONG LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE TO GET USED TO. THIS IS NOW YOUR HELL!**_"

* * *

Zane's breathing was becoming more erratic the more he considered what he saw in the Nightmares and the relevance they now held on the world of reality; and due to it, the more complete, pure and unbridled horror built in his expression, his face going ghastly pale. For some odd unexplained reason, this went completely unnoticed until the back of the toad's foot met the same goomnut bush he had walked out of earlier before he had met Mario. Needless to say, he fell over backwards and landed hard on the ground… On his BACKPACK. "YEOW! GRRRRRAAAAGH! DAMMIT! AGAIN!?"

The group turned to see him walking out of the brush, doing his best to pick up some goomnuts he had dropped and popping them back into his backpack. At the same time, he appeared to be nursing a bruise on his back. "FOR THE LOVE OF-! COME ON! I got STUNG BY BZZAPS! WHY IS IT THE UNIVERSE IS JUST **TRYING TO TICK ME OFF **ON THIS TRIP?! I NEARLY SNAPPED MY DAMN SPINE FOR GOD'S SAKE-!"

"Zane?"

Before something more obscene could slip out of his mouth, he turned to see whom had called out to him. He recognized the voice as female; very young… And there he saw the Goomba Family and Mario staring at him with unsure expressions. It turned out to be little Goombaria's voice that had called to him. "Are you okay?" Her expression was of the utmost concern. Zane's anger melted away when he saw it. Not even his own rage was going to go against the innocence of a little child.

"Y-Yeah… I am… Sorry about that."

Mario looked to the toad, unsure about something. "Why were you in the Goomnut bush? I thought you were done with your chore…"

The toad just waved him off. "It's none of your business, plumber. I was in there cause I was in there. Let's just move past that." He looked back to the block. "Besides, we have bigger concerns right now. Such as getting that block out of the way."

Realizing he was right, the Goomba Family quickly talked between each other, trying to figure something out amongst themselves. They appeared nervous now after that encounter with Kammy Koopa and after learning more about the Mushroom Kingdom's current situation. As they did this, Mario took in the block, trying his best to figure out how to approach this obstacle…

_'Maybe it isn't a good idea to tell Mario about what I saw in my dreams… He'll either think I'm out of my mind, or get even more worried… We need to focus more on what's going on in the real world now anyway…'_ The dreams would continue to haunt him with that in mind, but the want to not be judged based on if he was insane or not was at an all-time high.

"How-a are we-a going to get this-a block out of the way? I know I can't-a punch hard enough to-a do it…" Mario said, rubbing his chin.

Goompapa was right along with him, thinking deeply about their current ordeal. "Indeed, this could be a problem."

Perhaps in response to the tenseness of the situation, Goombaria quickly approached, "But dad, we HAVE to figure something out right? Mario has to save the Princess! No-one else can do it!"

"I agree with Goombaria." Goombario responded thoughtfully. "There must be SOMETHING here that Mario can use to get rid of this block. All he needs is the right tool it looks like…"

That seemed to get Goompapa thinking, a thought occurring to him. The more he thought about it, the more that smile creeped up. "Ah! Of course!" He quickly turned to Mario. "Perhaps you can't break it by punching it Mario. But MAYBE you can break this block if you use Goompa's big hammer?"

Mario jumped up in the air, nodding upon landing. "Fantastico! That should-a do nicely! Where can I-a find it? I need to-a get moving on the-a double after all!"

That time Zane answered smiling as he pointed to the Goomba Family's house. "Goompa should be using it to fix the old Veranda behind the house. Go and ask him for the hammer Mario." Wasting no more time, Mario quickly rushed to the house at top speed and just as quickly vanished inside… "For someone who supposedly eats twice his weight in pasta, he's surprisingly fast…"

For the next few minutes, that's how it stayed; Zane stayed at the front gate (Or rather what was left of it and waited for Mario to return with the hammer… Zane was normally a very patient toad, if he was just asked to wait a few minutes or so, but the amount of time Mario was taking was much longer then what they had thought. Goombario and Goombaria had rushed in to find out what was keeping them only a few seconds earlier... But… "If Mario doesn't come back in the next ten seconds…" Apparently he wasn't about to wait for those ten seconds, he had a job to do darnit, and he was late enough as it was! He quickly got up to his feet and walked to the house, leaving a surprised Goompapa behind. "The Underwhere is keeping Mario for so long?"

When he turned the door knob and walked inside the house, he was immediately greeted by Goombario, Goombaria and Gooma (Goombario and Goombaria's Grandmother) and they seemed rather frantic about something. However, given his own patience had been wore thin, he wasn't too interested at that moment. "Zane!" Goombario said in a panick. "Something really bad happened to-!"

"Excuse me kid, but I have a little business I need to take care of on the Veranda, so move." He walked past Goombario but Goombaria quickly cut him off.

"That's exactly what we need to talk to you about! You see-" Zane gently pushed Goombaria off of his leg, which she had glomped to get him to stop, and kept on walking.

"Goombaria, we'll talk later okay? I mean, really. How long does it take to ask for a HAMMER? I mean really?" He reached for the door, only to find Goombario quickly jumping in front of the door. Patience now wearing even more thing then before, Zane gently pushed Goombario aside and took the door knob. "I'll talk to you two later okay? Now hold on!"

"But Zane! You don't understand! The Veranda is-!" But the toad had already stepped outside.

"OKAY MARIO! WHAT'S THE HOLD UP?! I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU-!"

He stopped before he could finish that sentence upon realizing that Goompa and Mario weren't there… Heck, when he looked around, he noticed the scaffolding wasn't there either…. And when he looked down, he found a 7 story or so fall waiting just right beneath his feet into the canopy below.

"….. ….. CRAP."

Goombario got to the doorway just as Zane started his long fall down, screaming all the way down. The martial artist wildly flailing his limbs about in an attempt to find a hand hold. However, that only ensure that he entered into a spinning fall and completely losing control.

"Gone…" the goomba boy finished weakly as Zane vanished into the canopy…

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Hmmm… This Block… this block shouldn't be here… It's blocking our way back to the village." Goompa, whom appeared to be rubbing his sore back looked to a new block that had appeared in the path. "Judging from where it landed, I'm willing to guess this is what took out the Veranda…"

Mario himself sighed upon seeing it. "Well, at least now we have a fair idea what-a happened…" He sighed. "In any cases we should-"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALP!"

The two jump and quickly look up and find someone rapidly falling towards them. The figure hit the top most branch of a nearby tree which immediately snapped from the force of the fall. As the figure continued to drop like a lead weight he continued plowing through tree branches, some of them breaking under the pressure while others held strong, causing him to painfully bounce off of them (These punctuated with a loud 'OOMPH!') before he continued going. When at last the fall mercifully ended, the figure hit the ground hard.

Mario and Goompa couldn't help but wince at this show, and both couldn't help but wince more when they found that the figure was none other than Zane, whom's foot twitched while the toad moaned in pain. "Owowowowowowow….." With agonizing effort, Zane peeled himself off of the ground, and slowly to his feet, though he had to support himself on a nearby tree to keep up right. Upon spitting out a few leaves, he growled and screamed out to the heavens. "THE SECOND I FIND OUT WHO SET UP THAT CHEAP TRICK, I'M GONNA BREAK EVERY BONE IN HIS BODY AND THEN STRANGLE WHATEVER IS LEFT OUT OF EM!"

Mario rolled his eyes. "You-a done swearing yet-a kid?" The toad quickly turned and saw Mario and Goompa awaiting him right behind where he had landed. Zane let out an embarrassed groan now turning bright red.

"Sorry… This hasn't been the best day ever…" He looked to his backpack on his back and found it was still on him. Miraculously the Goomnuts had not left where they were packed away. "Well at least I haven't lost my stuff… I'd normally call bull on stuff like that, but hey, no complaints here…" Mario merely shook his head and turned back to Goompa, letting Zane sort out his own stuff.

"So-a Goompa." Mario began looking around for the item he had hoped to find. "There is actually a block just like-a this back at the-a entrance to the-a village and we think if-a we had your-a hammer we can get it out of-a the way." The elderly goomba male turned to Mario taking in what he said. "Think I can-a use your hammer?"

The elder's face lit up at the suggestion. "Oh! Of course! Let me just… Now… What… Where did it go…"  
The goomba continued his thoughtless mumbling as he scanned around the nearby area and past the . However, near as he could tell, it was nowhere in sight. "Well… This is certainly strange… I guess it must have fell somewhere over that way." He motioned to a dirt path that wasn't too far away from where the three had landed which appeared to lead to this flowery, tree covered area just right at the foot of the Cliffside, a white picket fence lining the area. "Hmmm, I recognize that place. It used to be a playground for Goombario and little Goombaria. Haven't seen it in quite a while."

Mario smiled at the sight, nodding at Goompa's explanation. "It certainly looks-a like a good place for kids to-a play." He clapped his hands as he walked in the entrance of the playground. "It looks pretty clean too. Finding the hammer around here shouldn't take too long at all."

Once Zane was sure all of his stuff was still in his bag, he turned and found the two walking into the playground. "Yeah, nice place." He had really thrown that in to show that he had been listening more than anything else. "Still, let's try to find that thing quick. I'm pretty sure everyone back at the village must be getting pretty worried about us." The two quickly agreed and went about looking around. Zane only spared a look back at the block blocking the path before joining Mario and Goompa in the Playground.

The first thing Mario did upon getting in was hit the 'Question Blocks' that were visible and scoring some coins for his effort. They weren't numerous but they would certainly be useful if he needed some money later on. At least until he got back to his house in any cases. Once that was done, he next started looking around the brush and shrubbery. "Come on… Where could it-a be?"

Zane was looking around as well, after all, the sooner they found the hammer, the sooner he could get back to the dojo and check in with his sensei. As he did, he went from shrubbery to the trees, taking a look up in the branches trying to spot anything that might have been out of place. He remembered seeing the hammer for himself, so he at least knew what he was looking for. Goompa meanwhile stuck close to Mario as he helped look around.

FINALLY a few minutes later, Mario moved another set of shrubbery and looked in… "AH!" He reached in and pulled out what looked like a big wooden mallet. It looked a little old, but strong none-the-less. "I-a found it! Hee-hee!" Goompa beamed brightly at the sight, while Zane let out a soft 'Yes!' from where he was nearby.

Goompa reacted first that being said. "Oh, yes! There it is! I'd recognize it anywhere! Good work Mario! Now we can head on home!"

As the praise went on, Zane himself turned back to the tree he had been looking up, taking in something in the top branches. It wasn't the hammer obviously, but it was clearly out of place in the tree's coloration of leaves and branches. It appeared to be a bright pink mixed into the greens and browns. Thinking a moment, now curious as to what he had found, the toad stepped back and, after taking a martial arts stance, kicked the tree hard, sending a vibration up the trunk and into the branches. The item easily fell to the ground once it came loose of the branches and when Zane took it in, he realized why the item was so pink. "What the-?" It appeared to be a rag doll that resembled Princess Peach, wearing the Ruler's usual pink dress. Zane picked it up and looked it over, unsure of what to make of it. "Weird…" Shaking his head, he walked back to the three, the doll in tow. "Hey guys! Look what I found!"

When Goompa took in the doll, he looked pleasantly surprised, before the expression turned into an elderly smile. "Well well! How about that! I believe that little thing was a doll that Goombaria said she lost! I wonder how it got all the way down here." Hearing this, Zane looked down at the Princess Peach Doll, "Well, since we're on our way back to the village anyway, best we take that with us. My my Goombaria will be so excited to see her toy back."

The smile infectiously appeared on Zane's face as he placed the doll in the front most pocket of his backpack. "Well in anycases we have the Hammer now gentlemen! So let's head for home shall we? I can't wait to get myself a cup of tea and sit myself down on my couch…" Nodding, Mario and Zane followed as Goompa led the way out of the Playground-

CUE THE SOUNDS OF A FIGHT COMING OUT OF NOWHERE AND GOOMPA LETTING OUT A PAINED 'YEOWCH!' BEFORE BEING SLAMMED BACK INTO THE PLAYGROUND, WHERE THE ELDERLY GOOMBA ROLLED INTO A GOOMNUT BUSH.

Mario and Zane quickly caught up to the Goomba only to find….

What in the world-?

"HEY! What are you doing here?! This is my playground idiots!"

Zane and Mario looked REALLY surprised to find that the person that had beaten the tar out of Goompa was what looked like a young male koopa, REALLY REALLY young in fact. Heck, he was tiny when compared to other koopas, and he was still walking around wearing the bottom of his eggshell as pants (holes poked in the bottom to allow his legs and feet, wearing brown work boots, to poke out) and the top of his eggshell as a hat… It was a snug fit as well fittingly enough. "Nobody and I mean NOBODY, is allowed to come in here without my permission!"

Mario and Zane just stared at the flabbergasting sight a moment, neither of them saying a word….

…

And then...

"PFFFFF-GAHAHAHAHAHA!" Let's just say Zane was rolling around on the ground laughing at the ridiculous sight, which more then prompted the little Koopa's blood to boil making his face turn red with absolute fury. A few minutes later, Zane was finally calmed down by his nearly popped gut and he bent down to the little koopa's eye level. There was no warning, no pass-go, no sort of ANYTHING, he started pnching the little guy's cheeks. "Awwwww! Isn't this little guy cute?" Condescending baby talk was heavily apparent in his speech. "Wassa' matter wittwe guy? Did you wose your Mommy and Daddy or something?" He fought the urge to crack up as he followed this up with more baby-like gibberish… However he DID burst out laughing some more once he was done.

The Koopa kid growled, grinding his teeth and looking red both in embarrassment and in rage. Mario, god help him, was actually TRYING to be nice and not laugh along with Zane, but was finding that increasingly difficult. When at last he found his voice, the koopa stomped his foot, trying to make himself look scary and intimidating, but only succeeding in making himself look ADORABLE. "YOU SHUT UP! I'M NOT LOST IDIOT!"

"Awww! He looks so cute when he's fussing!" To say that the kid's demand went unheard would be an understatement. "Wassa' matter wittwe guy? Did you make a stinky in your wittwe egg shell diaper?" Zane finally cracked and broke down laughing, Mario joining him since he couldn't stand the pressure anymore himself. Give Zane this, he knew how to cut deep.

As it would turn out, that last insult would be the trigger.

"YOU-… YOU! YOU LITTLE-… GRRRRAAAAAGH! THAT DOES IT!" That shout instantly caught Mario and Zane's attention. The koopa was now doing his best impression of a Wriggler, steam shooting out of his nose and his body red with anger. He looked about ready to behead someone. "YOU THINK YOU'RE SO MUCH BETTER THEN ME JUST CAUSE YOU'RE BIGGER AND OLDER! WELL TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE JERK. NO ONE INSULTS ME AND LIVES TA BRAG ABOUT IT! PREPARE TO CRY AT THE FEET OF MASTER JR. TROOPA!"

Zane and Mario took in this tantrum a moment, though Mario already had his hammer pulled out, fully expecting a fight to break out soon enough. He wasn't too far off either. "You want a free-for-all kid? Well don't worry… YOU'RE ABOUT TO GET ONE." And with that, Zane cracked his knuckles and went into a Martial Arts fighting stance.

He knew what kind of person this kid was. Goombario and Goombaria had told him before…

And he wasn't about to stand for a bully trying to push him or a couple of good kids around…


	4. One Fight after Another

(Authors Notes) Gantz Gun or Me: (Working on plans for sequel, the words are in plain view on screen.) Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, so how else should I make the situation seem worse? … … OH! We're on? Oh, cut the camera! Cut, Cut!

Auto (Yin and Yang Tales .1.): You know maybe we should keep that in there, it does show…

Me: (Now holding one mother of an energy beam.) CUT THE STINKIN' CAMERA ELSE I BLAST YOUR MISERABLE HIDE HALFWAY ACROSS… (An explosion follows it.)

(Static comes on screen, which was followed by a screen with Wally Ryu (Yin and Yang Tales .1.) and Zane T. bowing apologetically. The words "Sorry for the technical difficulties." Was written in bold print on the right side of the screen.)

(The camera finally comes on revealing me on the screen. Auto is in the background, unconscious on the ground.)

Me: Now that that annoyance is out of the way… (Clears Throat.) Well I present to you all, Paper Mario: Legend of the Star Rod, Chapter 3; 'One Fight after Another'! But before we go into a fight with Mario and Zane against Jr. Troopa, (Aside: All though he'll have his little punk butt no doubt handed to him later.) I have decided to treat you with that dark foreboding feeling, early into the chapter, that you've been no doubt felt since the dreams showing the Mushroom Kingdom under Bowser's Iron-Fisted rule. (Chapter 2.) What is it you ask? Welllllllllllllllll… I'M NOT TELLING YOU! Aren't I bad?

Wally Ryu: You won't tell them mate? Fine then, I will! The next thing happening is…

(I quickly pull a rope which drops a Bob-omb in front of Wally. An explosion quickly cuts off his sentence.)

Me: Shut it you… I've already said too much to my good friend 'NUTCASE' on this matter, understood? (Wally, who's almost unconscious on the ground, weakly raises his right hand in a 'Thumbs up' sign before it fell back down, and Wally passed out.) …Good… … … (Clears throat.) So without further ado…

(Disclaimer: I don't own the Paper Mario series. But I do own the character Zane and anything else you don't recognize. Enjoy!)

* * *

Chapter .3.

One Fight after Another

* * *

The view lights up revealing a dark star filled sky. In the center, of it is Bowser's castle, still holding Peach's castle up high in the sky. Inside Peach's castle, in the second floor foyer, a few guards walk around the room doing their job. One of the guards, which was a koopa wearing a green helmet, blue boots and carrying a hammer was sitting beside Peach's bedroom door, doing nothing in particular. This guard was among many of the Hammer Bros' koopa soldiers in Bowser's army.

He yawned, obviously bored that nothing was happening. After all, nothing **'had'** happened since Bowser defeated Mario, threw him out, and took over the castle. "So boring…" He said, his voice sounded teenager, obviously he was one of the trainee soldiers. It went on for a few minutes until the poor, bored soldier dozed off on duty. He lightly snored as a dream filled his head.

* * *

(Dream Sequence.)

The same Hammer Bros' soldier was now standing in a big line and his turn for whatever was going on was coming up. He had seen this happen before, when his brother became one of Bowser's elites… And now it was his turn to follow in his footsteps. He heard his name being called, "Blaine… You're next." Came Kammy's voice. Blaine started to sweat bullets as he walked forward. Standing before him was none other then King Bowser, and Kammy Koopa was floating by his side on her broom.

Bowser cleared his throat, catching Blaine's attention. "Please kneel minion…" Blaine slowly, but immediately obliged. He heard Bowser continue his speech, which must have been rehearsed before hand with how he worded it. But no one dared question. "I now dub you, (Clears throat.) Blaine 'Mallet' Zalles, a Koopa military elite…" As Bowser said this, he pulled out a sword and slowly, and carefully lay down the dull edge on each of Blaine's shoulders. "And to be placed in the 1st rank of the great koopa army…" He pulled the sword away and resheathed it. "Congratulations..." Blaine lifted his head knowing the ceremony was over...

However his eyes widened when he saw not Bowser standing before him, but instead a tall shadowy figure. The figure was so blacked out it was practically impossible to see his features. Probably the only thing seeable about the figure was the black, demonic cloak, which moved around like it was alive. Standing beside him was what looked like a shadowy female with pale skin, wearing a dark toga, was barefoot, and had long, wild purple hair. Her eyes were truly her scariest feature, because the pupils were a dark purple, but they were slightly paled… And now they narrowed down on him, as she gave a cruel smile.

"Rise… And accept your destiny…" The center shadowy figure said, his voice was deep, dark, domineering, but above all had an evil presence. Almost as if on cue, Blaine's body was lifted up by something other then his own will power, and now he was standing up straight. Before he knew what was happening a shadow suddenly formed at his feet and started to engulf the koopa. His eyes widened in horror, "Accept your destiny… …" He said again… Only this time he added another statement after it. When he said it his voice suddenly changed from his deep voice into a horrible demonic screech that would send a chill up anyone's spine. "**_AS MY SLAVE!!!!!!!!!"_**

After that, the figure started laughing in his deep tone, and the female laughed along with him. Her laughing was far worse then Kammy's, it was a witch like laugh, but her voice sounded smooth and beautiful... But deep down, Blaine could sense a demonic presence, hidden in a Beauty's body, like a 'wolf in sheep's clothing' as the saying goes. As the dark duo continued to laugh at the situation, the koopa's body was slowly being enveloped by the strange shadow as if it was a living being, and it had been starved… until now.

Blaine tried everything in his power to scream for help, but the shadows were squeezing him, like an anaconda squeezes it hapless victim. All of the oxygen in his lungs was gone and he found that he couldn't breathe, much less scream. He managed to make one weak wordless scream before the shadows completely enveloped him…

(End Dream Sequence.)

* * *

The boy grunted in his sleep until finally his eyes shot wide open and he awoke with a gasp. He took big deep breaths of fresh air, and looked around. He was still in the castle by the looks of it, and nothing happened, just as he left it before he went to sleep.

He rubbed his arms trying to get that feeling of horror slowly crawling up his spine. He decided to get up and try walking a little to warm himself up. He got up and slowly walked off letting the events of the nightmare play through his mind. "Who was that guy?.. He looked so… Demonic…" He said slowly before shuddering… 'Demonic' didn't even seem to be the right word for that strange creature… "Oh calm down, Blaine it was just a dream… Nothing more, nothing less…" He said as he walked off…

Had he stayed two more seconds he would've seen a very strange sight… From the very spot he sat by the wall, a small ghostly looking, purple, ball of energy suddenly rose out of the floor, floated for a little while, then disappeared...

(Scene Change.) PM/PM/PM/PM/PM/PM

Jr. Troopa's playground is shown once again, and after a second, the view moves to show Jr. Troopa, Zane, and Mario, about to go at it. After a second passes, Jr. Troopa charges forward, and slams his egg shell covered head into Mario.

* * *

_**("At this point imagine Jr. Troopa's battle theme playing in the background as the fight goes.")

* * *

**_

Mario recoiled from the hit by slightly sliding backwards. Jr. Troopa quickly changes targets and starts charging towards Zane, his fists swinging left and right in a dangerous fashion. Zane smirked at this and quickly catches one of the little koopa's fist, then, using the momentum of the attack, hurls Jr. Troopa across the playground. Mario, who now recovered from the blow he received earlier, charges at Jr. Troopa and swings his hammer downward. Seeing the danger, Jr. Troopa quickly dodges by jumping aside. However as the koopa was in the air, Mario suddenly lifted his hammer again and sends Jr. Troopa flying with a 'baseball swing'. As he's sent spinning in midair at the hit, Zane suddenly cuts in front of him and uses a swift uppercut to stop the koopa's horizontal trip, and send on a more 'vertical' trip. As he was in the air Zane jumped up to meet him.

"Hey short stack! Allow me to show you one of my personal favorite moves!" After saying that, he quickly sends a barrage of attacks at the young koopa and ends the combo with a swift front flip kick, sending the koopa hurtling down towards the ground. Upon Jr. Troopa making a painful landing, Zane landed on the ground next to the troopa's almost unconscious carcass. "It was taught to me by a good friend of my sensei, it's called 'Jinxed' pretty neat, eh?" Jr. Troopa answered that with a swift punch to Zane's face.

After a second, Jr. Troopa stood back up, then, upon seeing a shadow form over him, looked up… Only to see a pair of brown work boots, land on top of his head. Mario landed on top of Jr. Troopa and quickly jumped off, that movement had enough force to knock the poor koopa onto the ground. Upon getting back up, he looked to see Zane running to him. He never had time to move, before Zane grabbed his arm and started swinging him around like a rag doll. Jr. Troopa would've shouted at this, but he was hit by a tree before a word could leave his mouth. This went on a bit, as Zane slammed the poor koopa against a goomnut bush, against the ground twice, and then throwing him right into the cliff face. The little koopa was dizzy at the ride he was taken on, and was stuck in a hole that was the same shape as his body in the cliff side.

He shook his head to get rid of the dizziness, when he opened his eyes, he saw Mario running right at him, hammer reeled back ready for a swing. Jr. Troopa's eyes widened at that. He tried moving his body parts so he could free himself from the rock wall. "Oh come on, come on…" Jr. Troopa complained to himself, as he struggled fiercely to free himself. Mario came closer and closer, and so did his attack. Jr. Troopa finally freed himself and fell out of the hole… A second before, Mario's hammer hit the hole he was in. The force of the blow was enough to make the cliff slightly crack around Mario's hammer, but it wasn't enough to cause any real damage. Mario struggled a bit but his hammer seemed embedded into the rock face.

"HAAAAA!!!!!! You missed, you fat, Italian…" A fist colliding with his head stopped the sentence short. He was sent rolling to the other side of the playground. As he was coming to a stop, Zane quickly appeared and quickly kicked the koopa right into a tree. It splintered a little upon impact. Jr. Troopa turned to see Zane give a confident smirk, and give him a 'bring it on' hand signal. Jr. Troopa immediately obliged and charged.

Jr. Troopa punched left, right, then swung out a ground sweeping kick. Zane side stepped the punch to the left, ducked the one to the right and back-flipped over the kick. Jr. Troopa tried again, he punched with his right fist, but Zane caught it with his left holding on to it hard. As a reflex, Jr. Troopa swung his left fist out, but Zane caught it with his right. Before Jr. Troopa could do anything else, Zane suddenly twirled him around, holding the koopa's arms in an uncomfortable position on his back. "YEEEEEEOOOOWW…" His scream was interrupted when Zane suddenly kicked Jr. Troopa's back making him fly upward, and, while he was in mid-air, slugged the little trouble maker's stomach sending him flying…

Right to Mario, who had finally removed his hammer from the rock wall. "Batter-a up!!!" That was the only word that came out of his mouth, before Mario's hammer hit the koopa in a baseball swing.

Jr. Troopa slid on the ground, on his stomach with the feet sticking up in a comical fashion. He slid for a bit, until he finally stopped, when that happened his feet fell to the ground. Zane stared at the koopa in a empathetic smile. "Boy I'd hate to be him right now…"

* * *

_**("Okay the Jr. Troopa battle music ends, and the Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Victory music plays in the background.")

* * *

**_

Jr. Troopa slowly and painfully gets up, after a second, he pounds his fist into the ground. "**SHOOT!!! AND I WAS WINNING TOO!!!**" He slowly got to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at the two fighters. "DON'T THINK THIS IS OVER! I'LL BE BACK!!!" After saying that, he ran away from the two fighters and out of his playground… Just to run back after a second, and once again point an accusing finger at Zane and Mario. "And trust me on this… **I WILL BE BACK!!!**" After saying that, he ran off again this time. This time he did not come back.

Zane sweat dropped at the young kid. "Somehow… I don't think he was kidding when he said that." After that he shrugged indifferently. "Oh well…"

Mario walked up to Zane. "You-a are a pretty impressive-a fighter, Zane."

Zane gave a slight bow. "Thank you, Mario. That's what happens when you take training from the master of the Toad Town Dojo."

Mario gave a Zane a small confused stare. "By-a the way-a, did I-a see you-a use one of Master Jinx's-a moves back there?"

Zane smirked slightly. "Yeah, Sensei Jinx is a good friend of my old teacher, he visited Toad Town some time ago, and during his practice match with one of my training partners I saw him use the move 'Jinxed'. I became inspired by the move and tried to learn it. I managed to master the move shortly before he had to leave. He was proud, not to mention, flattered that I had copied one of his moves." Zane gave a proud smile. "He called me a good student, because of my persistence and willingness to learn. And that's quite the compliment considering it came from Sensei Jinx."

Mario nodded at that, "Yeah, Jinx is-a like that-a sometimes. I've heard a lot about-a him." Zane nodded at that. "Well we-a have the-a hammer now! Lets get-a back to-a Goomba Village!" Zane nodded. Once that went through his mind, Zane immediately went to the side of the still unconscious Goompa.

"Hey Goompa, how about you wake up now we're going to the village now." Zane said slowly. Goompa slowly woke back up, and weakly climbed to his feet.

"By the great goomba ancestors… What hit me?" Goompa asked dazed.

"It was this little punk named Jr. Troopa, but we took care of him." Zane said, contently cracking his knuckles.

"Jr. Troopa, huh? I should've figured… He's the neighborhood bully, but besides that he's easy to beat." The old goomba looked to Mario and saw he was holding the wooden hammer in his hand. "So now we have the hammer! Lets get back to the village! Certainly everyone is worried about us." Zane nodded at that.

A few seconds had passed, before Mario, Zane, and Goompa walked out of the playground. They all approached the block with Mario in front, when they got there, Mario took the wooden hammer in his hands. Then, with an almost Herculean-like strength, the hammer smashed the block into a pile of rubble. Zane almost looked surprised at Mario. He had forgotten all about the fact that Mario must've been pretty powerful since he had to fight Bowser most of his life.

But, it was because of this, that he wouldn't have to worry about the blocks anymore. "Not bad Mario! That block back at the village won't be in our way for long, with you on the job!" Mario held the hammer and it's end was on his shoulder.

He smiled lightly. "Well, I-a take pride in-a my work!" Once he said that, they continued forward, after a bit of a walk they saw a small block hovering a few inches off the ground. The block was see through and in the center of it was a red heart. Mario recognized it as a heart block. Also on top of a small rock stairway, there was a medium sized metal platform with a spring underneath it. It was obviously a 'spring board' by the look of it.

Zane approached the heart block and stared at it curiously. "I think I remember my sensei talking about this once. It's a 'heart block'. I think he said that if anyone hit this block their energy would be replenished." Mario walked up to the block and looked up at the block. With a well made jump, Mario hit the block. Three lights came out of the block, one went to Mario, one to Zane, and one to Goompa. The lights entered them, and almost instantly, any wounds they had sustained were healed.

Goompa was the first person to say something. "Amazing… That injury I got from Jr. Troopa was healed." Zane stared at the heart block in wonder. But then his eyes, fell on the spring board. He went over to the stone steps and jumped up each one. Mario saw what he was doing and followed him.

Zane stared at the spring board a little while. He pushed down on the spring, then let it go watching the result. After thinking a bit, he turned his gaze upward. There was a piece of rock was jutting out of the cliff side, a story or two up. "I wonder what's up there." He said after a second. His eyes fell on the spring board and an idea formed. "If Mario could do it… So could I!" Mario had just climbed up the last step as Zane jumped onto the spring. The spring went down at the sudden weight, but just as quickly sprung back up, catapulting Zane upward.

After a few second flight, Zane landed on the big rock face and looked around. From the rock face, he could see up to miles of the Mushroom Kingdom's forest. Floating a few inches above the rock platform was a '? Block'. Zane stared at it for a second, but then decided to hit it. He jumped up with an uppercut and hit the block. From the block, a strange item appeared. It looked like a dark reddish orange flower with a green stem and two leaves, probably the most surprising feature on the flower was the lines that looked like closed eyes on one of the closed petals.

Zane stared at it confused before he suddenly felt a certain heat coming from the flower itself. Zane carefully reached out and touched the flower. It definitely let out a aura of heat, but the touch was like any other flower. After a second he shrugged, took the flower and placed it in his pocket. He might as well ask Mario what it was when he found the time.

Meanwhile, down to where the spring board was, Mario was looking straight up at the rock platform jutting out of the cliff side. Goompa did the same. "I hope Zane's okay." Goompa said as he looked.

Mario looked to Goompa, "Don't worry. From-a what I've seen, Zane can-a take care of-a himself." Goompa nodded at that. After another second they heard another shout…

"**LOOK OUT BELOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

A few seconds after the scream, Zane landed on the spring board, and jumped off before it sprung back upward. He looked at Mario, then pulled out the flower to show to him. "I found this while up there, do you know what it is?" Mario's eyes widened when he saw it.

"A 'Fire Flower'!" Mario shouted surprised. Seeing Zane was somewhat confused he explained. "A Fire Flower has-a the power to grant anyone who-a touches it, the power to shoot-a fire from there-a hands, as well as increase that-a someone's attack power. For those who can't use the flowers inner power, can use the item to shoot out fiery projectiles." Zane, after hearing that, stared with wonder at the 'Fire Flower' with wonder.

Once Zane pocketed the item for later, he, Mario, and Goompa, continued down the path to Goomba Village. After a few seconds of walking, Goompa suddenly stopped and turned to Mario and Zane. "Heads up you two! I see some goomba's up ahead. And they certainly don't look friendly. I'd say they're the goomba's loyal to King Bowser." Mario and Zane looked ahead themselves, and saw Goompa was right.

There were goomba's up ahead, and they looked antsy for a fight. Some ranged from regular goombas, others seemed to be goomba with green helmets on their heads with a big sharp spike poking out from the top, a 'spiked goomba' obviously, and others were goomba's with little white wings poking out of there backs, flying in midair, Paragoombas in other words. "Wow, we have every kind of battle goomba here." Zane said in amazement.

Mario seemed surprised as well. "So what should we do Mario? Fight or run?" Zane asked… Before he suddenly cracked his knuckles, as if preparing for a fight. "I personally would like to kick a bit of butt instead of run, though." Mario turned to Zane, gave him a small smirk and pulled out his hammer.

"I'm not about to run away from a bunch of goombas." Zane smirked a bit as well.

The goombas walking around the path continued to walk around until they saw someone walking right in front of them. They turned and saw Mario as well as a person they had never seen before… A person they would learn to fear…

"You goombas stink!! Koopas rule all your butts!!" Zane shouted, before he pulled down his bottom eyelid and blew a raspberry. They immediately took it as a offensive statement and charged. A few 'Spiked Goombas' headed straight for Zane, while the 'Paragoombas' charged full speed at Mario. The regular goombas split into two groups and charged at their own individual targets. Zane raised his fists, while Mario raised his hammer. Zane put up his fists, pulled back and immediately swung forward. His fist and being charged forward and slammed through most, if not all, of the goomba warriors like bowling pins. Mario reeled back his hammer, and spun around like a top, his hammer held outward. Any goomba unfortunate enough to get in his way ended up being sent flying over the horizon. The remaining goombas charged once again at their respective targets.

Zane quickly jumped over the remaining 4 spiked goomba's with a front flip, and landed on top of one of the 3 goomba's, knocking it out. With a martial artist's style, Zane spun around and used break-dance like moves to kick a spiked goomba's face and used the finale to smash his foot into another regular goomba to knock him out. With another move, Zane smirked, front flipped over one of the spiked goomba's, knocked him out with his fist, grabbed the goomba by the spike and swung him around like a club. The goomba's gave an awestruck look before being slammed aside by their own soldier's unconscious body. Zane swung the spike goomba around skillfully and slammed him into another one of the regular goomba soldier, right before knocking out the last spiked goomba with a well placed swing. Once that was over, Zane planted his spike goomba weapon into the ground spike first to make sure he couldn't get back up, at least until someone came to help him. He smirked when he said his last statement. "See? I told you koopas ruled your sorry butts. And the fact that you got beat by someone other then Mario proves it."

Mario, meanwhile, was in 'goomba extermination mode'; swinging his hammer left and right to take out the goombas around him. When the Paragoombas came into perspective, Mario knew his hammer wouldn't be able to reach them so he put it away to take them out with his famous jumping abilities. Mario ran a good distance back, and started to run forward. He jumped his famous jump where he jumped up and a fist was pointed upward, then he jumped again this time it was considerably higher then the last, his arms were at his side. His third jump was the cream of the crop, however, as he jumped the third time, this one was just as high as the second one, but had him do multiple front flips as he went. **_("Think Super Mario 64 and the jumps Mario could do there.")_** He landed skillfully, feet first, on the paragoomba and quickly jumped on top of the next. Both were taken down by the blow and put into an unconscious state. The remaining paragoombas were taken aback at that; they had forgotten that Mario was one heck of a jumper. Then another thought entered their mind… One looked up to see Mario, with one leap, was over his head and descending quite quickly. That one goomba could only say one thing, as his eyes widened in fear and saw Mario continue to descend. "Oh… Shhhhhoot…" That was the last thing that came out of that goomba's mouth before Mario's boots smashed his face, then quickly jumped to the other ones knocking them out too.

Zane looked over to Mario to see he was finished with his group of enemies. Mario, who had seen most of Zane's fight, approached, and he looked very impressed. "That was pretty impressive-a sight! I can-a tell you-a like to be-a creative-a in a fight." Zane blushed at that.

"Aw, thanks Mario. I try!" Zane said as he scratched the back of his head bashfully. Goompa came out from behind a tree and spoke next.

"That was an impressive performance by both of you. But we should be heading to Goomba Village now." Zane and Mario nodded at that and continued down the path. As Zane walked, however, his eyes fell on a strange yellow glow coming from behind the bush. He approached the bush moved away the leaves and saw what it was. It was a medium sized yellow gem that sparkled in the sun. With how yellow and shiny it was one would think it came from a star of some sort. The item confused him greatly… But Zane pocketed the item, just in case it would be useful. After that Zane, ran after Mario and Goompa in order to catch up… As he left, however, a pair of yellow eyes suddenly appeared from the shadow of the cliff side and watched him leave. The eyes didn't have any evil glow to it, quite the contrary, it was a benign looking gaze with almost a hint of nervousness…

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Authors Notes: I have to admit I really liked this chapter, and who could blame me, I had my first fight scene for this fanfiction and I think I did quite well. So please read and review!!! 


	5. The King of Goombas

(Authors Notes)

Me: (Sings the announcement like it's the song "Fest of Fools' from The Hunchback of Notredame.) 'Come one! Come all! The updates here and that's no joke, and more news is here so pass the Coke! (Chuckles real quick at the rhyme.) Come one! Come all! I'm introducing my new friend, come on now, take her like a trend. And here she is right nowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww… ACE!!!"

(Ace, Author name; KarieLuisaSaja, walks onto the makeshift stage, looking somewhat nervous. She stared out at the audience, which consists of Wally Ryu, who applauded lightly, seemingly delighted to have a new friend, and Auto, who looked otherwise bored and annoyed at the whole thing. I pop up by Ace's side.)

Me: So what do you think? Not a bad place over all, I'd say…

Ace: Yeah, it isn't bad… So when do I get to meet Zane, he should be here right?! He's awesome… (I sweat drop.)

Me: Eh, heh… Sorry Ace, but I'm afraid Zane isn't going to be here today… He's over at NUTCASE's place working on the fanfic 'Mario Science Theater 3000'.

Ace: (Gives a disappointed look.) Aw, man… I wanted to see him… Wait a minute… Why is he with NUTCASE?

Me: Zane plays a special role in NUTCASE's fanfiction. If you want to see it, just read his fanfiction through. You should see what I mean.

Ace: (Nods excitedly.) Okay I will!

(Me and Ace turns our attention to Wally and Auto.)

Me: And you probably remember these two knuckle heads, don't ya?

Ace: (Gasps excitedly.) Oh!!! Wally and Auto from your 'Yin and Yang Tales' Fanfiction!! (She jumps down from the stage and in front of the front row seats. She points at Wally.) You must be Wally! Oh, I have to admit, meeting you here in person is 'way' better then reading about you!!

Wally: (Blushes, somewhat flattered.) Heh, thanks Ace mate. That's quite the compliment!

Ace: (Now turns to Auto.) And you must be Auto! Wow, you've gotten darker since the last time I saw you haven't you?

(Auto glares annoyed at Ace.)

Auto: This is it? You called us here, to greet some obsessed fangirl to our ranks?

(Dead Silence followed… Ace looked surprised for a second, before she pulls out a tennis racket, a scary look coming on her face. Auto looked scared, Wally looked startled, while I grabbed the Light Bender's arm with a mildly nervous look on my face.)

Me: Well, I better vamoose before things get **'very'** ugly… ON WITH THE STORY!!!

(That was last thing said, before I along with the light bender retreated to the nearest bomb shelter. The view broadens to show the mountains… Right before a blast the size of an atomic bomb could be seen, and a scream could be heard echoing all over the world.)

Ace: **WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

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**

Chapter .4.

The King of the Goomba's

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Goombario paced for a few seconds around the front yard area, worried to no end about everyone that went missing. It was obvious that Goombaria shared the same sentiment, because she was sitting with her back touching the houses outside walls and crying her little eyes out in worry. Goompapa was standing besides little Goombaria, trying to calm her down. Goomama, Goombario and Goombaria's mother, was doing the same. Time went on for a while until they heard a familiar sound. "Do not cry family, for I am home!" Goombario perked up and looked to the back gate that lead to the forest behind Goomba Village. After a second they heard another familiar voice along with the jiggling of the lock from the outside. 

"What the heck is this lock for? I swear you just put this here to seriously annoy someone." Came a teenage voice from behind the gate.

"Oh is the thing locked? I'm sorry Zane; I'll take care of it." There was the sound of someone messing with the lock outside the gate, and then it coming unlocked. With a small push, the gate opened revealing Mario, Zane, and Goompa.

Ecstatically the goomba kids ran up to the threesome; Goompa had a shamefaced grin on his face, Mario just stood behind Goompa, holding the hammer and doing nothing in particular, Zane just stood in a laid back pose with his hands behind his head, he looked like he didn't have a care in the world. Zane smiled when he saw the goomba kids coming. "Goompa do you know how worried we were? When I went to check up on you, Holy moly, I saw you and the veranda were just plain gone!"

Goombaria continued from there and she seemed teary. "Goompa we was all worried about you, very worried!!" Goompa's expression didn't change.

"Yes, yes, I know, now, now, Goombaria don't cry… What matters now is that I'm back safe and sound." He walked past the kids and turned to look at them and his rescuers. "Mario, Zane… I want to give you something as a token of my appreciation. Please wait here." With that, Goompa walked into his house and closed the door behind him.

"And speaking of missing veranda's…" Zane's voice came all of a sudden. Goombario became nervous as he looked at Zane who seemed somewhat angry. "How come you didn't tell me about the whole thing?"

Goombario sweat dropped slightly. "I'm sorry Zane, I tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen." He gave an embarrassed look. "Sorry…"

Zane, after a second, smiled lightly. "Ah its okay, I suppose I should've listened to you. Besides, no harm done." He once again put his hands behind his head. "Besides if you ask me it was probably for the better that I found out to late. At least I was able to help Mario get Goompa back home." Suddenly he turned his head in sudden urgency. "Oh, by the way…" He suddenly dug into his back pocket and pulled out a small item.

Goombaria's eyes widened exponentially at what she saw. It was the Peach doll that he had found at Jr. Troopa's playground. "Goombario do you know who's this is? I found it during our little trip." Zane asked, Goombario's eyes widened as well.

However out of the two, Goombaria was the first to react. "That's my dolly!!! Oh my gosh, I've been looking everywhere for her, where did you find her?!?"

Zane stared at Goombaria for a bit, but answered, "I found it stuck in a tree near where I landed from my fall. I thought it belonged to someone so I kept it for safe keeping." He looked at the doll a little bit then back at Goombaria, "So, it' s yours then?" Goombaria nodded frantically. After that Zane smiled then handed it to Goombaria. "Well if it's yours then take it. I'm just glad she's finally back home."

Goombaria immediately took the doll with her invisible hands and hugged it fiercely. "DOLLY, DOLLY, DOLLY, DOLLY!!! Oh my precious little dolly, I swear I'll never let you out of my sight again!" She turned to Zane, "Here I want you to take this as my thanks, look at the pretty glitter!" She took out another item and handed it to Zane. The young toad was somewhat surprised to see the 'thank you gift' was another one of the strange yellow gems, like the one he found in the forest before he and Mario got to Goomba Village. Zane took the gem and closely examined it closely. After a second, he put the shard in his back pocket alongside the other one and bowed thankfully to Goombaria. "And take this too." When she said that, she gave him a quick, friendly, peck on the cheek.

Zane stood straight back up and nodded at Goombaria, letting her know he was thankful. Goombario went next, smiling a little. "Mario you always seem to get the best of your enemies, do you work out?" Mario nodded.

"Of-a course! I train in-a the Toad Town sewers, there's usually all kinds of-a monsters down-a there." Goombario smiled at that.

* * *

**_("The training in the Toad Town Sewers part was actually inspired by the puzzle game, 'Mario Vs. Donkey Kong' for the Gameboy Advance. On the fan site and on the booklet, I believe, it says Mario trained in the sewers.")

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_**

"Well I study martial arts by a lot of the masters, and by listening to dad and goomba. And I think it's really paying off look I'm getting big muscles!" Zane wasn't exactly sure where to look for muscles so he missed what he was trying to show.

Goombaria giggled, somewhat proud of her brother herself. "Yeah all that training has made my brothers head as hard as a rock now. So when he uses his 'Headbonk' move it really, really hurts." She said, chuckling slightly.

Goombario blushed somewhat at that. "Oh cut it out Goombaria, you're embarrassing me! But, of course, it is true." Zane rolled his eyes, the boy may have been tougher, but it didn't really help in making him humble.

The door to the Goomba family house opened and out came Goompa carrying a small toolbox on his head, his invisible hands kept in place. He walked up to Mario and Zane and gave the bag to Zane. "I believe holding your stuff in your pocket isn't the best place for them, after all you have so little space in there. So here take this bag and use it to carry any supplies you find." Zane took the bag in his hands smiling.

The toad bowed thankfully to Goompa. "I thank you for the gift Goompa." The old Goomba looked like he had more to say, so Zane quieted down.

"Zane look into your bag, Mario's reward is inside it." Zane did as he was told and checked all the holding places. There were probably five different holding places in the toolbox. After a thorough search, he found a small badge that resembled a blue shoe. Zane handed the badge to Goompa.

"Is that it?" Zane asked the old goomba, as he held the badge.

"Yes it is." Goompa said, handing the badge to Mario. "It is called the 'Power Jump badge' I believe. You can use it to increase the power of your jump at the price of your magic points." That confused Zane somewhat.

"Magic points?" Goompa looked to Zane with a smile.

"It's the force that allows us to perform moves we wouldn't otherwise use." Zane nodded. "For example, some people can use healing abilities, sometimes known as 'Cure spells', while others can use this power to increase the attack power of their attacks, I believe that ability is called 'Charge'."

* * *

_**("If you remember correctly, Peach was able to use a cure spell, or something close in comparison, in the Super Mario RPG games. But still for the sake of it; Cure is a spell that is copyrighted by Square-Enix. Please don't sue me… (Chuckles nervously.)")

* * *

**_

Zane nodded in understanding and started to move the items he found into his new bag. Mario took the time to equip his badge. "I only regret I can't go with you Mario. Back in my younger years, I would've been able to do some damage. But still the years have a way to make you weaker, so I'd only end up hurting myself."

Goombario approached Mario and Zane. "Man, going on a quest to far away lands, saving the princess, kicking the bad guys butt. I'd do anything for an adventure like that." Goombaria nodded ecstatically in agreement.

That phrase was enough for a small idea to pop into Goompa's head. "That's it!" Everyone turned to him. Goompa cleared his throat and looked right at Goombario. "Goombario… There comes a time in a young mans life that he must do something he feels he should do…" Goombario stared at Goompa confused. "Dark times are now upon us, and you are no longer a little child. I'm sure Mario would agree." He turned to Mario, and then returned his gaze to Goombario. "You may go with Mario."

Goombario's eyes widened so much it looked like his eyes would pop out of his head. "What? Me, g-go with Mario? I can?" Goombario looked to Mario. He nodded after a second.

"The more-a, the merrier." Mario said simply, agreeing with Goompa.

Goombario jumped up and down in the air excitedly. "YES, OH YEAAAAAAAHHH!!! I'M GOING ON AN ADVENTURE WITH MARO!!!!" He stopped and turned to Mario with an anxious grin. "Mario, you can trust me when I say, you will 'not' regret this!!!" Zane smiled at Goombario's enthusiasm, He already knew that the boy would become a great partner to have around.

"Way to go, Goombario!" Goombaria said in a sing song way. Once that was taken care of, Mario approached the new team mate.

"We should-a probably get-a going, now." Goombario nodded, so did Zane after placing the Fire Flower item into his bag. The three approached the front gate with Mario in front. Once at the block blocking the way out of the village, Mario smashed the block into a pile of rubble.

Goompapa approached the soon to leave trio, Goomama was right behind him. "Goombario…" He said, Goombario turned to his father.

"Yeah dad?" Goombario answered back.

Goompapa suddenly sported a big smile and pulled Goombario into a big hug. "You go and show Bowser's troops how a real goomba fights!" Goombario smiled to and returned the hug.

"I will dad!" Goomama came up next and showed a small worried look. Goombario smiled at this. "Don't worry mom, I'll be just fine! I know how to take care of myself." With that, Goomama suddenly pulled him into a fierce hug.

"Oh my sweet, little baby, you've really grown up, haven't you?" She separated from Goombario to get a better look at him. "It only seems like yesterday, you were sleeping in your bed with your beloved little teddy bear, Poopsie Bear was his name, I believe." … … … … Dead Silence followed…

* * *

**_("… … …Good lord… Don't tell me I just put that in there…")

* * *

_**

Goombario's eyes went wide, and a small blush appeared on his face. Zane had to do everything in his power not to break down laughing. "And I had to come and tuck you in, read you a bedtime story, and give you a glass of warm milk, not to mention, when I had to change your diapers when…"

Goombario stopped the monologue before it got any more embarrassing. "MOM!! Please not in front of the guys!" He turned to look at Mario and Zane. Mario was understanding about the whole thing... Zane, however, was now snickering under his breath, trying in the absolute bottom of his will power not to fall over laughing his ever-loving butt off. "I'm a grown goomba now! I can take care of myself! You don't need to worry about me!"

Goomama stared at Goombario a little bit, then gave one of her motherly smiles. "Oh I'm sorry, sweetie." Zane lightly chuckled, but his laughter disappeared after that. "You go with Mr. Mario, and prove yourself to the world. Show them that you are, and always will be, a tough young goomba." Goombario gave a confident to his mother.

"Don't worry mom I will." With that Goombario hugged his mom again, and rejoined the two heroes. Soon the three adventurers were on their way out the gate and on to Goomba Path.

Goomba path was devoid of any bad goombas, so that left the threesome with one boring walk across the Goomba Path. As they continued walking, they were unaware of a pair of eyes looking at them from the shade of the bushes. It was the same yellow eyes from before. The eyes watched them for a second, before they disappeared all together.

The bunch continued walking until they came into an area where a part of the path was a bit higher then what they had walked on before. There was a spring board in front of the higher land mass, which would allow anyone that was trying to pass through a way to move on. Zane stared around somewhat confused. "You'd think we'd run into at least a few goombas back there, wonder what happened to them…"

Goombario seemed to agree. "Yeah, Bowser should know you're still up for a fight, so he would've sent a few more soldiers to at least try to stop us… shouldn't he?"

Zane easily answered with, "Of course, he should… I mean, after all, we're the good guys, he's the bad guy, so it's all common sense, right?"

"Still-a you'd think he'd at least-a send one-a of his-a soldiers, to-a stop us… I wonder if-a he's giving up…" Mario said, even though he was doubtful of what he said.

"HEY!!! Who are you losers?!?" A voice called suddenly. Mario and the others looked up to see two new characters make an appearance. Both of them were slightly big goombas, one was red in color, while the other was blue. "Hey little bro, look who it is. If it isn't Mario and his puny little toad friend." The red one said, his voice sounded somewhat like a young adult. His comment prompted an evil chuckle from the blue one, obviously his little brother.

"Who the heck are these creeps? Cause their asking for a butt whoopin'." Zane said cracking his knuckles. He was obviously ticked about the puny crack.

Goombario answered the question. "I've heard about these guys, these are the Goomba Bros, they work for Bowser's military." He pointed to the red goomba of the two. "The red one is named 'Red', he's the older of the Goomba Bros, and therefore the stronger of the two." Goombario then pointed to the blue goomba. "And that's 'Blue', he's the younger of the two goomba brothers, and therefore the weaker."

Blue looked offended at that. "Hey!! Just because I'm younger doesn't mean I'm the weakest!!" The goomba said, his voice sounded like a younger version of 'Red'. Blue took a bold step forward and stared angrily at the three adventurers. "Come on bro! What do you say, we kick these guy's sorry butts into next week?" Red smirked at that.

"Yeah…" He took a step besides his brother, and stared at Mario and friends as well. "LET'S!!" The Goomba bros jumped from the small ledge and landed in front of the heroes. "Bro, you go ahead and get the 'toad', I'll handle Mario and his puny new goomba ally." Blue smirked and approached Zane.

Blue was about as tall as Zane was, and it was apparent that Red would at least be a centimeter taller then him. "Ready to lose?" Blue asked confidently. Zane only smirked.

"So long as your ready to lose those buck teeth of yours, Bugs Bunny." Zane retorted. Blue started to seethe at that line.

"You, stinkin', little!..." It was at that point that Blue had ended all talk and threw his head at Zane in a headbut.

* * *

**_("Think something similar to Yoshi's headbut smash move on Super Smash Bros. And the Paper Mario Mini Boss tune plays in the background.")

* * *

_**

Zane was hit by the headbut, and took a few steps backward to regain his composure. Once he did that, he saw Blue charging straight at him with a headbut. He quickly sidestepped the attack, which made Blue hit the tree behind the toad. Meanwhile Red charged right at Mario and Goombario. Mario managed to jump over the attack, while Goombario was hit head on. As Goombario was knocked into a goomnut bush, Mario rushed forward and slammed his hammer into Red. Red was knocked back by the attack and was suddenly hit again by Goombario's 'headbonk' move, who was back on his feet.

Zane was now an agile little opponent, constantly staying one step ahead of Blue. Blue tried to headbut Zane. But the toad sidestepped the attack and, as soon as the goomba turned to attack again, slugged him right in the face. Zane quickly got behind the Blue and kicked his butt, literally, which sent him flying and made him hit a tree face first. Zane smirked at that. "That'll teach you to call me puny…" After saying that, Blue walked out of the bushes, Zane laughed his fool head off when he saw the one of the goomba's buck teeth missing, and had a black eye. "See?" Zane asked as he stopped laughing and grinned like the devil. "Told you you'd lose some teeth…" Blue seethed at that and tried to charge again, however, he was stopped short when Goombario slammed into his head right into Blue's, knocking the poor goomba out. Goombario stumbled around a little trying to regain his balance it was obvious that he was sent flying by another one of Red goomba's attacks. Zane quickly went to Goombario's side. "You okay Goombario?"

Goombario snapped out of his daze and nodded at Zane. "Yeah, I'm okay, just a little dazed is all…" Another familiar voice suddenly spoke from right behind them.

"Blue?? Blue!! Are you okay?!?" Red goomba suddenly pushed the two fighters aside and ran to his brother. "Blue come on, wake up!" Red stopped after seeing his brother was unconscious. Once he did, however, he turned to look at the three fighters. "Okay… THAT'S IT!!! NO ONE POUNDS MY BROTHER AND LIVES TO TALK ABOUT IT!!!" Red charged like a madman right at Zane, who threw up his hands in self defense. He was successful in catching the attack.

It didn't last for long, however, as Red, with a newfound strength, suddenly took a step backwards and charged, bowling Zane over. Mario saw the attack was coming for him and jumped over it. Using the power of the 'Power Jump Badge', Mario rammed his boots right into Red's head, causing a heap of damage. Red continued his charge unable to make himself stop, just barely missing Goombario who jumped over the attack, and hit him with a 'headbonk' while in the air. Zane suddenly appeared in action running towards a tree, pushing off of it for momentum and started running full speed at Red. Right at the last second, Zane veered left slightly, making Red hit the toads arm in a clothesline move. In an almost comic fashion, Red span around and around on Zane's arm until finally slowing down and hitting the ground with a thud. Zane smirked at the goomba's who were both unconscious on the ground. "Idiots…"

* * *

_**("The Mini boss tune ends and the Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Victory Tune plays in the background.")

* * *

**_

A little bit later, the goomba bros were up on their feet and giving a pathetic sad-faced looks on their faces. "Aw man, this stinks!!!" Red yelled, pathetically.

"We got 'our' butts kicked by Mario and his Toad friend!" Blue whined. Zane was getting more and more annoyed that they weren't calling him by his name. However he didn't have time to yell about it, because the Goomba Bros jumped on the spring board and ran off down the path.

Goombario as well as his friends sweat dropped at the immature act. "… … … They may have been neighborhood bullies, but… That act was just sad…" Zane and Mario nodded in agreement. Since there didn't seem to be any more enemies on the path, and since they thought they wouldn't have to deal the Goomba Bros again, they continued forward... Once again oblivious of the same pair of yellow eyes staring at them from the shadows once again.

They continued down the path until a strange sight caught their eyes… Standing before them, probably two stories tall, was a castle. It looked like it was made to just have one room on the bottom floor and a balcony at the top of the tower. They saw the Goomba Bros suddenly appear at the front door. Red went first. "Goomba King, let us in!"

Blue went after him, "Yeah, Mario beat us up!" He said with a whiney voice. The front doors opened and the two ran in, the doors quickly slammed behind them. The adventurers approached the castle cautiously.

Zane looked angry about something. "What? I don't even exist anymore?!?" He said, angry that Blue left him out in that last statement. Mario and Goombario rolled their eyes at that.

Goombario looked at their surroundings a little bit. "That's wierd..." He said, turning to Mario and Zane. "There should've been a bridge that would lead to the outskirts of Toad Town... Wonder what happened to it... And why is that castle there? It's never been there before..." Mario and Zane started to think along with Goombario.

However, their thinking was brought to an abrupt end, when a loud stomp shook the ground.

Zane looked startled at this. "What the heck?!?" Another loud stomp shook the ground, making Zane and the others launch slightly off the ground. This went on until the stomps suddenly stopped.

"Hey losers! Up here!!" Red shouted. The gang looked up to see the Goomba Bros on the balcony of the tower. They were suddenly joined by one of the **BIGGEST** darn goomba's, the adventurers had ever seen before.The goomba was huge, had a white mustache, wore a pair white and red striped pants, and a commanding look in his eyes. Everyone gawked at the sight.

"IS THAT MARIO?!? HEH, HEH!!! HE'S A TINY LITTLE FELLOW ISN'T HE?!? AND SO IS HIS PITIFUL FRIENDS!!" Zane's face changed to one one of annoyance.

"Who the freaking heck are you?!?" He called back.

The gargantuan goomba looked angrily at Zane. "I AM THE GOOMBA KING!! I WAS SENT HERE BY LORD BOWSER TO KEEP MARIO AND HIS FRIENDS FROM PROGRESSING ANY FURTHER..."

Goombario finally snapped out of his look of surprise and added in his two cents. "WHOA!!! That guy is huge!"

The Goomba King seemed to like this reaction. "IT SEEMS THE LITTLE ONE KNOWS HOW TO SHOW FEAR... JUST AS YOU SHOULD... AFTER ALL I'M THE GOOMBA KING!! AND NOTHING CAN BEAT ME!!!"

This proved to be one of those times that Zane should've kept his big mouth shut. "I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE THE GOOMBA 'QUEEN'!!! NOW GET THIS PILE OF CEMENT OUT OF MY WAY, OR SO HELP ME, I'LL TEAR IT DOWN ONE BRICK AT A TIME!!!"

It was dead quiet after that...

The Goomba King finally exploded. "YOU DARE INSULT THE GOOMBA KING, YOU LITTLE GNAT?!?"

"Oh I dare!!" Zane yelled back. Mario pulled out his hammer, knowing at this rate a fight would start.

He was right...

The Goomba King and his minions jumped down from the balcony and landed in front of the heroes. The Goomba King glared at Zane. "I'll make sure you pay for your insults, young toad..."

Zane smirked. "Here's what I think about your threat and your kingship..." He said... Before suddenly spitting a loogie at the Goomba King. The King recoiled from the disgusting notion and stared down at the three heroes, But especially Zane.

"Grrrrrrr... THAT'S IT!!!!!! I'LL MAKE SURE YOU FEEL MY WRATH!!!" Zane gave a 'whatever...' eye roll before entering a battle postion. Mario reeled back his hammer, ready for a brawl, and Goombario stood at ready.

* * *

(I slowly open up the bomb shelter door once the explosions ended.)

Me: Wow that was chaotic...

(Wally's head pops up as well.)

Wally: Man, that girl has a temper!

(We crawl out and eventually see Auto laying on the ground unconscious, with about five bumbs piled on top of each other on his head, and Ace was nearby grinning like the devil.)

Me: Ace? Your okay now, right? You let it all out?

Ace: Yeah I'm alright. I just had to get that extra stress off my mind.

Wally: (Staring at Auto's mangled, but still alive body.) And what a lot of stress!!

Ace: If anybody learned anything here it's this... Never piss off a girl!

Me: (I sweat drop.) No kidding... (Turns to screen to look at the reader.) R&R people!!

Ace: (Adds in cheerfully.) Until next update!!

Wally: (Pokes Auto a few times.) I wonder how long it's going to take till Auto mate, wakes up...

* * *

**_("Ace is an Author OC Character based off of KarieLuisaSaja. I hope I did well enough.")

* * *

_**


	6. Taking Names

Me: (Hangs up the phone.) Okay, thankfully Auto hasn't sustained any mortal injuries. But the doctor advised he doesn't fight for a good long while. And the body cast will have to stay… Till next month at best…

Ace: Wow… I really got him bad…

Me: Don't take it the wrong way Ace, but that's putting it mildly.

Wally: Aw, don't worry about it Ace. Auto is a fast healer… Faster so, than a normal person, actually… He should be out of there in less time, then the doc says.

Ace: (Sighs in relief.) That's good…

Me: I just hope he learned his lesson. It took me hours to get these document pages back together… (Clears throat.) Well, now that the loose ends of my Author space has been tied up. We can get back to the situation at hand. Right now, we are currently on our next update of PMLSR. (Paper Mario Legend of the Star Rod.) And currently we are now on the Goomba King Boss fight.

Ace: I remember playing the game, he wasn't that hard to beat. After all there is that little one time trick during the fight.

Me: Yeah, I know.

Wally: I played the game as well… And I agree with you two.

Me: Well, hopefully the next boss fight with the Koopa Bros, will give everyone something to really laugh about. Oh well… Anyways, since Auto will be out of commission for a short time at best, I will have an old friend come by and take his place.

Wally: Oh really? Who's the replacement for Auto.

Me: You'll see… (Chuckles mischievously.) Okay now here we go! 'Chapter 5: Taking Names'! Time to see what happens next! ON WITH THE STORY!!!

* * *

Chapter 5

Taking Names

* * *

It was a standoff; Zane and friends on one side, the Goomba King and his cronies, Red and Blue Goombas, on the other. Neither side made a move. Suddenly the Goomba Bros charged forward at the group. Zane smirked. "Fight time…" 

The melee had begun…

Red went after Mario and Goombario, while Blue went after Zane. Red swung a headbutt at Mario who jumped aside, and quickly used his hammer to bat him back. Goombario followed with a tough 'headbonk' move. Blue charged at Zane and tried a multitude of attacks, Zane dodged them all. One of Blue's headbutts was caught by Zane. It didn't matter how hard he tried, Blue was just too weak from the earlier fight. "Come on 'Little Boy Blue'." Zane mocked as Blue struggled. "We've been in this position before…" Zane reeled back a fist, and, with a mighty swing, slammed it into the goomba's head reeling backwards back behind the goomba king. Red was sent right along with his brother. "You know you don't stand a chance against me!"

The Goomba Bros got back up and then did a very cowardly thing… They hid behind their oversized ruler. "Go 'get em' Goomba King!!" Red shouted from his standing point.

"Make em' cry!!" Blue said from his position behind Red. The Goomba Kings eyes narrowed.

"I WILL!!" he called out.

* * *

**_("At this point, imagine the 'Goomba King Boss Fight Music' playing in the background.")

* * *

_**

The Goomba King charged forward… Right at Zane. He tried kicking Zane, but being the quick little devil he was, the toad jumped over the blow. During his midair trip, he landed a hard front flip kick on the Goomba Kings noggin, and landed behind him. Mario charged the Goomba King and swung his hammer, the hit connected hard. Meanwhile behind the Goomba King, Zane was staring down the two Goomba Bros. "Pretty cowardly to hide behind your own boss…" He smirked as he cracked his knuckles. The Goomba Bros started to get really nervous.

Meanwhile the Goomba King snapped out of his daze and attacked Mario. He kicked at the plumber, knocking him away and making him hit a tree. Goombario would've helped him if he wasn't sent flying by the Goomba Kings headbutt. Zane was about to attack the Goomba Bros, that is, until the Goomba King purposefully fell over and landed right on top of the toad with a loud thud.

* * *

**_("Ouch.")

* * *

_**

Zane dug out from under the great bulk and was instantly seized by Red and Blue. The Goomba King got back up and stared triumphantly at Zane. "WHAT'S THE MATTER? TOO MUCH FOR YOU?"

Zane smirked. "Yeah, right…" Zane swung a tough back kick into Blue's gut, making him let go of the toad instantly. Without much pause, he elbowed Red mercilessly, which made the goomba release him, and quickly followed up by easily picking up Red and tossing him at his brother knocking both of the goombas out. He looked at the king. "That answer your question? You honestly need some better cronies." Goomba King seethed and tried to kick the young toad, but he blocked the attack effortlessly and counters by slugging the goomba in the face. Suddenly a hammer appeared, spinning like a boomerang and slamming the goomba in the forehead, that was followed by a brown blur which knocked the goomba over.

Mario appeared grabbing the hammer as it flew through the air. Goombario landed next to Zane as well. "Any-a ideas?" Mario asked, as the Goomba King got up to his feet. The Goomba Bros slowly did the same.

Zane started to think about what they could do. So far they were outnumbered, the Goomba King counted as three warriors all by himself, and the goomba bros may have been weak, but they still counted. Suddenly his eyes fell on the answer, and currently it was hanging from the branches of a tree hanging over their heads. "That's it!" Zane said excitedly. He turned to Mario and quickly whispered something in his ear. Zane retold the plan to Goombario, they both liked the idea alright.

"Good-a idea!" Mario said quietly. Goombario nodded a little. Zane looked at the Goomba King. In order to make this plan work, he had to get the over sized king a bit closer. Zane pointed somewhere and Mario quickly went that way. The Goomba King followed him, but his attention was brought back to Zane real quick.

"You call yourself a king?! HAH!!! All of your soldiers couldn't do much about their enemies, now could they?" The Goomba King looked back at Zane, hatred filled his eyes. "Besides, Kings don't take orders from other kings! And last I checked, Bowser's a king! In the end, your nothing more then a BIG, FAT, GIRLY, PATHETIC LITTLE MAID!!!" That did it… The Goomba King lost it…

"Y-Y-Y… I-I-I-I…" He looked back at the ground for a second, and when he looked back up, flames comically shot out of his eyes. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOOOOOOUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He stomped forward like the giant he was, getting closer and closer to Zane.

Zane smiled smugly, but inside he knew he had to time this just right. 'Just a little bit more…' The Goomba King continued to stomp forward, not even taking the time to look at Mario who had reeled back his hammer, ready, it looked like, to slam his tool right into the tree trunk. 'A little bit more… A little bit more…' Zane was running out of space between him and the homicidal monster. Just when it looked like the Goomba King would pound the living tar out of the boy, something strange happened… "NOW!!!!!!" He called demandingly all of a sudden.

The Goomba King looked at the toad in surprise. Mario suddenly slammed his hammer into the tree trunk, and that was soon followed by loud rustling sound in the branches above the Goomba King's head. The giant goomba looked upward… Only to see one of the BIGGEST, darn goomnuts he had ever seen! The Goomba King only had time to widen his eyes with surprise, before the goomnut collided with his head.

"_**BONK!!!"**_

The Goomba King, after that, was taking random steps trying to keep his balance; all the while he had a goofy smile on his face. The goomnut had bounced off his head and was now in the air. Zane quickly jumped on top of the Goomba King's head, then jumped off of him too, making the Goomba King lose balance and fall face first on the ground. Zane was flying next to the goomnut and quickly threw a backflip kick, making it plummet to the ground. The goomnut collided with Red and started to comically bounce off of Red and Blue like they were pinball bumpers.

* * *

_**("Imagine the sounds of a pinball machine during this time.")

* * *

**_

Mario quickly ran to the other side of the Goomba Bros and prepared himself for what was to happen next. After the next few seconds, the goomnut collided with Blue for the hundred millionth time, and he was knocked into next week. The hard nut collided with Red, knocking him out like his brother, and sending it flying… Right at Mario.

Mario turned around and as soon as the goomnut was close enough, he did a backflip kick himself… Meanwhile the Goomba King had just got back up from his little 'nap', and stared angrily at Zane… "WHY YOU LITTLE!.." **_'BONK!!!'_** He was suddenly hit from the back of the head by the goomnut. The goomnut flew upward in the air and over Zane's head. A small distance behind him, Goombario suddenly appeared, and swung out a headbutt, sending the goomnut sailing back at the Goomba King. Zane quickly dodged the goomnut leaving the Goomba King wide open. The hit connected and the goomnut was sent back into the air. Zane jumped high into the air and delivered a tough front flip kick to the goomnut, which slammed into the Goomba Kings noggin. It didn't bounce back into the air though, it stayed on his noggin like it was stuck on by super glue.

Goombario and Zane took the opportunity to attack. Taking advantage of his current air time and falling velocity, Zane performed a few front flips in the air to increase velocity, and landed his feet on the goomnut… **_'HARD'_**... Goombario quickly followed up with a 'headbonk' move, showing just how hard his head was. For the final move, Zane held both of his palms together. Seeing Zane was ready, Mario did his famous jump, the first jump landed on the ground, the second jump landed him right on Zane's open palms… "Alley oop!!!" Zane shouted, as he supported Mario's last jump, sending him high in the air. Using his 'Power Jump Badge's' power, Mario landed his attack on the goomnut, and therefore the Goomba King's head.

The goomnut on the Goomba King's head cracked and broke apart; at the same time, the Goomba King fell over unconscious. Mario landed on the ground next to his partners and looked to his downed enemies. "He-a calls himself-a a king? He was-a nowhere near as-a strong as-a my other enemies."

* * *

_**("Okay the 'Goomba King battle theme' ends, and the Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door 'Victory Tune' plays in the background. Anyone recognize the move from 'Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time?")

* * *

**_

After a few minutes, the Goomba King and the Goomba Bros were conscious again and staring right at the heroes a look of fear in their eyes. "Whuh?! I lost?" The Goomba King asked fearfully, no giant tone in his voice now. He suddenly ran as fast as he could back into his castle. The Goomba Bros followed suit and quickly closed the door, locking it.

Zane stared at the castle doors and started shouting. "HAH!!! There's no way you clowns would've beaten us!! So run!! Hide like the overgrown chickens you are!!!" Goombario and Mario sighed, aggravated.

Goombario was the first to say something. "Zane, if they locked the door on us, we can't get to the other side… Besides the bridge is gone." Zane, hearing that, was silent for a second, before he started yelling on the top of his lungs.

Once that was over, Zane suddenly heard a small noise behind the castle's doors. He slowly and quietly approached the door, and listened carefully. The Goomba King and the Goomba Bros were whispering about something. "Now Blue, you're positive you hid the switch in a place where Mario and his friends won't find it?" The Goomba King whispered.

Blue whispered next. "Yes sir, Goomba King! I hid it in the grass just outside the fortress." Dead silence followed. Zane, upon hearing that, went to the bushes next to the fortress. Mario and Goombario followed.

"OUTSIDE THE?!.. YOU IDIOT!!!" The Goomba King yelled, as the heroes found the switch and brought it out in the open. "YOU DIDN'T HIDE IT IN HERE?!?!? MARIO AND HIS PUNY LITTLE FRIENDS ARE SURE TO FIND IT!!!" Zane was about yell that he wasn't small, but an even more mischievous thought entered his head. Mario was about to press the switch, but Zane stopped him.

There was more incoherent chatter coming from the castle. Mario stared at Zane confused, but Zane winked mischievously letting Mario know everything was going to be fine. Zane quickly hid the switch behind him as the Goomba King appeared from the balcony. "Um, uh. Hiya' Mario! You and your friends put up a good fight and all that!" The Goomba King said trying to sound as friendly as possible. Zane rolled his eyes at that. The Goomba King looked back down at the group. "And 'young toad' I'll give you this, you are a much more powerful fighter then I originally thought." The Goomba King said. He caught onto the fact that Zane didn't shout his name at that comment which he knew was somewhat odd. The Goomba King decided it was no big deal. "But I'm afraid I must warn you all of something. If you bunch happen to find a big blue switch somewhere around here you must not press it! Something terrible will happen I you do!"

Zane pretended to think about it for a second. "Hmm… A switch…" He looked right at the Goomba King. "About this high?" Zane positioned his hand around knee length. The Goomba King nodded. "Blue in color?" The Goomba King nodded again, gaining vigor. "Probably has an 'exclamation mark' spinning around in the center?" The Goomba King nodded ecstatically.

"Have you seen it?!" The Goomba King yelled.

"Calm down tough guy… It's right here." Zane said, pulling the switch out from behind his back. At this point, the Goomba King was quite confused that Zane was being so easy to negotiate. He pushed it aside though, knowing he better go slowly. "That's right 'young toad', all I want is the switch. That's right…" Zane suddenly lifted his foot up over the switch. "I---- What are you doing?"

Zane looked at the Goomba King with an evil grin. "What does it look like?"

The Goomba King started to panic. "Oh no… NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!!"

The Goomba King continued to repeat himself as Zane shouted one thing at the oversized Goomba. "Go back to your boss and tell em' my name's Zane, DARN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" And with that… **_'SLAM!!!'_**… Went Zane's foot, and the switch was pressed.

... … … … … … It was quiet at first… That is until… … … … An Earthquake started.

The ground shook so hard, that the heroes fell to the ground at how sudden it was. The Goomba King was shaking along with it. "OHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The Goomba King shouted as the balcony floor fell in underneath him, making him fall into the lower levels of the castle. As the ground continued to shake uncontrollably, the top of the tower fell down and crashed on the ground with a loud thud on the ground. The heroes quickly put 'very' reasonable distance between themselves and the imploding fortress. After they did that, the towers outer walls suddenly peeled off revealing a bunch of big metal panels bent right into where the tower was. On top of them stood the Goomba King, He looked as if he was trying to put all of his weight on the bent up metal. It didn't work, however, as the metal sprung upward like a spring, and sent the Goomba King flying into the horizon. The sprung up metal straightened out and each side landed on opposite ends of the wide crevice that separated 'Goomba Road' from the 'Toad Town Outskirts'. Finally the Earthquake stopped and the fortress's first floor remained making a small metal-brick hut, more then a castle.

Zane cautiously approached the bridge. Seeing that nothing else was going to happen, Zane turned to his friends. "I think the shows over guys! It's safe to cross!" Mario and Goombario slowly approached the bridge and slowly walked across the bridge.

"Well…" Goombario started. "That was slightly unnerving." The group stared at each other, then laughed at what had happened. Once on the other side, Zane stopped short and noticed another yellow shard on the ground. He quickly picked it up and stuffed it in his bag, before running after Mario.

They were unaware of two pairs of watching eyes. One was from Kammy Koopa, who had witnessed the entire scene. She stared angrily at Mario and his friends, but especially Zane. "I'll get you for calling me ugly, one day… Just you wait…" She seethed riding off to Bowser's castle…

The second was from the same yellow eyes that had followed the group from the shadows. She eyed the group nervously before her eyes disappeared in the darkness.

* * *

The view once again shows Bowser and Peach's castles floating high in the sky. Kammy flies through the sky, and goes in through the front door of Peach's castle. 

Some time later, in another room of the castle, the door opens and Kammy walks in. "My viciousness! The Goomba King has been thwarted by Mario!" She shouted as she walks in. Bowser is in the room standing in front of a desk. The room was a bland one, on one wall there is a big fireplace, on the desk was two book ends holding up a set of books. One book was out and open and it appeared that Bowser was writing in it.

Bowser seemed surprised. "What the Goomba King lost!?!? I made him huge, and he STILL lost!?!?!?" Meanwhile outside, Blaine, the Hammer Bros soldier, was listening in to the conversation.

Kammy Koopa calmed her king down the best she could. "Calm down, your highness. The Goomba King was… Small Time… I knew he would fail…" Blaine listened in closely.

'_Mario beat the Goomba King?'_ Blaine thought. _'Must be one tough guy…'_

"Right, your right… The only reason he became a king is because he got down on his knees and begged me. I knew he'd fail… But Kammy, you don't think Mario could come up here and take the fight to us… Do you?"

Kammy laughed at that… Blaine shuddered remembering the laugh he heard from that strange demonic woman from his earlier nightmare. "How could he do that, sire?!? We're so high above the sky, Mario could never reach us!! And besides even if he does, what's he going to do? You can beat him with one claw tied behind your back! So long as you hold the Star Rod, you're invincible!!"

Bowser's confidence came back at that. He took out the Star Rod and started to gloat. "Ah yes, very good… GWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!" Blaine continued to watch the scene in front of him.

Blaine was trying to get his courage up to ask his leaders about his nightmares. But, with how the conversation was going, they didn't look like they wanted the insignificant news that one of their soldiers had a nightmare. "By the way, Kammy… Those Star Spirits we captured back when we took the Star Rod… There's no way they could give Mario their power… Is there?"

Kammy scoffed at that. "Don't worry so much, your viciousness! Each of the Star Spirits are held separately. And each are carefully guarded by a soldier of your choice."

Bowser did something he rarely did even as a king, he started to think. "Hmm… The nearest Star Spirit to Mario and his friends… It's at the 'Koopa Bros Fortress' isn't it? Are they ready for anything at their castle?"

Suddenly a new voice appeared. "King Bowser, my main man, you musn't worry!!" That caught Bowser and Kammy's attention. Blaine also looked around the inside of the room, curious of who that was. "HIYAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Suddenly four new koopas appeared. Each one wore a facemask of a different color, and the facemask's color matched their shells. The colors in order were Red, Black, Green and Yellow. They suddenly entered a pose where all of them gave a thumbs up. "Here come---- The Koopa Bros!!!" The Red one, obviously the leader, said.

* * *

_**("At this point, imagine the 'Koopa Bros theme song' playing in the background.")

* * *

**_

The Koopa Bros then started scatting at their own song. "Mmm mm, uh-huh, oh yeah! We're the coolest of the c-ool, oh yeah!" Red, the red Koopa Brother scatted.

Bowser just stared at the Koopa Bros in disbelief. He growled slightly. "Grrrrr… Kammy! Are you sure these- these… 'JOKERS', will get the job done?! The Goomba King was huge and not even he could fight against Mario and his friends!" Kammy looked at Bowser, by the way her face looked, anyone could tell she was sure of what she was doing.

The Koopa Bros stopped scatting, and Red walked up to him. "Hey King Bowser, dude, honestly, the Goomba King may have been huge, but he was a total whimpola! Me and my boys are nuthin' like him!" He said.

Black, the Black Koopa Brother, walked up next. "Yeah!" He said sounding like a gangster. "The guy was a total wimp no doubt about that! He couldn't fight his way out of box!"

Green, the Green Koopa Brother, walked up next. "Yeah, dude! It's a bummer I wasn't there to watch the fight I would've brought a camera! Me and my Bros will take care of Mario! And I'll be sure to have some pictures of the totally humiliating defeat!"

Yellow, the Yellow Koopa Bros went next. "Dude, you mean we actually have a camera?" He was answered by Green whacking him upside the head.

Kammy smirked at this. "That's the spirit! Sell it Koopa Bros!" she pointed at the Koopa Bros with her wand. "Show King Bowser the attack you do so well!!"

Red nodded, "Yes ma'am!" he turned to his brothers. "Everybody ready??" The view moves showing only Bowser's face. Suddenly a bright light comes from where the Koopa Bros are standing.

Bowser stares at the scene in front of him, all sorts of impressed. "Wow… This is- this is… Whoa!.." The light, after a while, starts to die down, and the view broadens out showing the Koopa Bros again.

Red turned to look at Bowser and Kammy. "So, dude, whatcha' think?"

Bowser looked at the Koopa Bros smugly, "Yes, of course! You'll have no problem defeating Mario and his friends with that attack!" He laughed a little bit. "Even if he has that 'Martial Artist Toad' and that 'kid goomba' with him!"

Red responded smugly. "We'll take em' King Bowser!!"

Bowser suddenly looked right at them thoughtfully. "By the way, my Koopa Bros... The Star Spirit I placed in your fortress… Who's guarding it right now?"

Dead silence followed… The Koopa Bros stared at each other somewhat nervous. Red looked right at Bowser. "Uh, (Nervous laughing.)… no-one sir… You see we're here and so-…"

As Blaine watched from the other side of the door, Bowser's yelling came through the open door, comically blowing like a strong wind pushing the Hammer Brother back from the waist up. "YOU IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! USE YOUR HEADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET BACK TO THE FORTRESS AND GUARD THE STAR SPIRIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" After the powerful vocal gust, Blaine was laying on his shell on the floor trying to get back up. The Koopa Bros ran through the open doorway so fast, you'd think the devil himself was chasing them. With how fast they ran, Blaine was sent spinning on his shell. As soon as he stopped he seemed dizzy about the trip, and after a few second daze once again tried to get back up.

After a few minutes, Blaine was back on his feet and walking through the castle. _'With how things are going so far, Bowser and Kammy won't want to listen to me, especially something as trivial as a dream.'_ He shuddered slightly. "More like a nightmare." He corrected himself out loud. He started to think some more. _'So how am I supposed to learn about these strange figures in my nightmares?'_ Blaine's thoughts suddenly came to a solution. "That's it!" He said, as he started walking towards a new destination.

He opened a certain door in the second floor foyer, and walked in. He was now in the Castle's Library, a place where he could find all kinds of books. "There could something about monsters somewhere in here!" He whispered to himself. He slowly walked through the Library's numerous aisles, looking at book upon book of the Library's big selection. The Library itself wasn't all that big, there were a few aisles, hallways and sections, but besides that it still wasn't that big. He finally found the object of his search; a book called 'Hexes and Myths: A Book on Mythical Monsters.' Upon finding the book Blaine took it off the shelves, and went to a reading desk nearby. He sat himself down on the seat and opened the book, setting it in front of him. He saw the book's 'Table of Contents' and continued on.

He saw numerous monsters as he went, 'Big Foot', 'the Grim Reaper', the Loch Ness Monster, some Dinosaur look alike monsters… He stopped flipping pages when he saw something he couldn't ignore. "What the?.." he said as he lifted the book to his face.

The Chapter Title was 'The Dark Dinos; The Dentes Rhohos tribe'. Curiosity now peaked, Blaine looked closer at the chapter. "The Dentes Rhohos tribe? Isn't that Spanish for…" He shuddered in realization.

As he read on, Blaine learned a great deal about the 'Dentes Rhohos' tribe. They were supposedly Dinosaurs much smarter then their neighbors. They also hunted Dinosaurs for strange rituals, where they supposedly become full fledged members of the tribe by caking their teeth in blood. There were also legends where the 'Dentes Rhohos' Tribe outsmarted and won a game against the 'Grim Reaper' winning the magical power of instant revitalization. In other words, if the dark monsters were ever killed, they would instantly come back to life. It didn't even matter what condition their bodies were in. The bodies would instantly be brought back to normal and brought back to life! The Dentes Rhohos Tribe were supposedly killed when the Meteorite from a hundred, million years ago struck the Earth, thereby separating the Earth from the Mushroom Kingdom. However, if these Dinosaurs had the power of Instant Revitalization, there was no way they could die so easily. "If those things could come back to life, despite the fact their bodies turned to ash. I doubt they'll be gone so easily." Blaine laughed slightly. "Hah, hah! Dinosaurs that couldn't die, how stupid is that?" Blaine said to himself. Before pulling a book mark from his helmet and marking his place in the book. Maybe this book could help him get over his nightmare.

After all, reminding himself of how stupid the whole monster thing was could probably help him. After all, the whole thing about 'dinosaurs that couldn't die' sounded somewhat stupid. "I mean come on! That just sounds so stupid!"

He would never know that the 'Dentes Rhohos', could be as real as any of the monsters in the book.

* * *

Me: Well how about that? Not only is the Goomba King defeated, but now we get a first look at the Koopa Bros. Not only that, but we also get a look at a possible future group of enemies. 

Ace: Wow, the Red Teeth, eh? Sounds kinda scary.

????: Tell me about it.

(Ace turns to see a huge bear wearing a black shirt with a crescent moon on the chest and has dark brown fur.)

Ace: … … … … (Stares at the bear, for a few seconds, before…) GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GANTZ WE GOT A 'BEAR' IN HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me: Hmm? Oh! Our new guest is here. (Turns offscreen.) Hey Wally! Come here quick!!

Wally: (Walks in.) Hey Mates! What's going on in… (Sees the bear, and his eyes widened.) Kuma? Is that you?!?

Kuma: Well hey Wally! Haven't seen you in a while!

Ace: (Stares confused.) Huh?

Me: Ace… Think back to my very first fanfiction… I suppose you remember our good friend, Kuma 'the Clawed Hurricane' Bear, from 'Legend of the Dream Traveler'.

Ace: (Looks closer before looking surprised.) OH!!! So your Kuma!! I've heard so much about you!

Kuma: Gantz Gun, who is this girl?

Me: Oh right! Kuma say hello to Ace. She's the Author 'KarieLuisaSaja' who reviewed 'Legend of the Dream Traveler'.

Kuma: (Gives an enlightened smile.) Oh yeah! It's a pleasure to meet you Ace! (Holds out hand- er, claws.

Ace: Like wise! (She takes Kuma's hand and shakes it.)

Me: Well now that we have the new assistant author in the house we can get back to work on the rest of the fanfic! Well… R&R People!!

Ace: (Adds in cheerfully.) Until next update!

* * *

**_("Kuma 'The Clawed Hurricane' Bear, is a character from my Klonoa Fanfiction, 'Legend of the Dream Traveler'. This was a tribute to my very first fanfic!")_**


	7. Family Matters

Me: Yes, yes, I know… But I just haven't been able to write it lately.

Kuma: Gantz Gun! If you know aren't you going to be writing it soon, how come me and my friends weren't informed!?

(Ace approaches Wally, who's watching the scene.)

Ace: Wally, what's going on?

Wally: Kuma there, is talking about the future of the 'Legend of the Dream Traveler' fanfiction. So far, Gantz's been pretty nonchalant about the whole thing. While Kuma's pretty dang ticked.

Ace: I hope he doesn't cancel it… He made such a well made cliff hanger since his last update there…

(After a few more minutes of talk, Kuma and I nodd slightly to each other, and the big bear walks off. I get up from my seat and approach Wally and Ace.)

Ace: Well, Gantz?

Me: Well, me and Kuma had a nice long chat… And we've came to a conclusion…

(Wally and Ace stare at me expectantly. I smile lightly.)

Me: Get your Mongoose form ready Wally, cause an update for 'Legend of the Dream Traveler' is soon to come!

Wally: (Starts celebrating.) OH YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ace: (Smiling giddily.) Good for you Gantz!

Me: Gee thanks… (Clears throat.) So anyways people, now we have Chapter 6, 'Family Matters'! In this chapter we'll see short but sweet reunions, the introducing of a new character, (Kinda.) and meet the Master of the Toad Town Dojo and his students! So without further ado, ON WITH THE STORY!!!

* * *

(Disclaimer: I do not own the Paper Mario series or any other Mario games for that matter. I only own Zane, and anything else you don't recognize.)

* * *

_**(" Chan and Lee are making their first appearance in this chapter. If you want to imagine character's voice, try to imagine Lee with a voice similar to Scott from 'Pokemon Battle Frontier', and for Chan try to imagine a younger version of King Dee Dee Dee from 'Kirby Right Back at Ya!'… And since I'm thinking about it, you can imagine Zane's voice to be somewhat similar to Ash's new voice from 'Pokemon Battle Frontier.")

* * *

**_

Chapter .6.

Family Matters

* * *

Toad Town… The very central of activity in the Mushroom Kingdom… Central because, it was in this very town that Peach's Castle stood… … Well more like used to stand. Now that Peach's Castle was taken by Bowser's leaving a gaping hole in the ground where it used to be, the entire town was in an uproar! As people nervously chatted amongst each other, a Paratroopa, who was holding a mailbag was flying a few inches off the ground, and was moving around the town throwing newspapers in the air, all the while shouting "Extra, extra, read all about it! Castle Toadstool uprooted! Princess Peach kidnapped again!" He eventually passed the front gate where three familiar figures stood. As the Paratroopa passed and threw newspapers in the air, Zane snatched one out of the air and looked at the front page. 

The Article on it had this sentence, in bold print. _'Castle Toadstool captured! Bowser's at it again!'_ The toad sighed at what he read.

"Mario…" Zane started catching Mario's attention. "Now that I think about it… How many times has Bowser tried to kidnap Peach? I mean honestly." Mario shrugged.

"Eh… I-a lost-a count a long-a time ago." Zane sweatdropped at that comment.

"Persistent little pest, isn't he?" Zane said to no one in particular, before folding the newspaper and placed it in his bag. "Well now that I'm back, I might as well head back to the dojo…" But Zane didn't go anywhere. "But now that I think about it, it would actually be pretty cool to see where the Mario Bros live, so I can drop by again sometime." Mario nodded at that.

Goombario nodded at that as well. "Yeah! I'd like to see it too!" He said ecstatically, obviously wanting to see the place as much as Zane did… If not more so.

Mario smiled at the goomba boy's enthusiasm. "It's simple really. Follow me!" Mario said showing the two to a green warp pipe near the Toad Town Library. The two followed the plumber into the tunnel…

* * *

Meanwhile, at the house of the Mario Bros, a middle aged man was sitting on the front steps. He appeared to be a skinny man, with a slightly big nose with a mustache much like Mario. He wore blue overalls, with a green shirt underneath, brown working boots, and a green cap with a white circle in the front, and a green 'L' in the center of it. This was Luigi Mario, the younger, yet slightly taller brother of the one and only Mario. 

He appeared to whistling a tune as he sat on the front porch. The house itself was a wooden house painted with light yellow paint, a red painted roof, and a sign with a red 'M' on it.

* * *

**_("Imagine Mario's house from Mario and Luigi: Super Star Saga, with the 'red 'M' sign above the door.")

* * *

_**

Luigi stopped whistling, and looked around the front yard a bit, boredom apparent on his face. To his left, on the lawn, there was a couple of poles and what looked like a clothes line in between them. Further down the path that cut the front lawns in half was a green warp pipe that lead to Toad Town. Luigi sighed, bored out of his mind. "Mama mia… I wonder what Mario and Clay's doing now…"

Clayton Mario, known to his friends as Clay, was the youngest Mario brother at the age of 19. (Mario and Luigi, being twins, were both the age of 29.) He had left the house with a letter telling him of some urgent business at a place called Tiger Track Island. Clay didn't give much detail, being in such a hurry, but by the sound of it, it really seemed important. After all, it was his good friend from Congo Bongo, Diddy Kong that sent the letter.

As he continued to sit there, he suddenly saw someone jump out of the pipe. It was none other then good old Mario. Quickly following him was Zane and Goombario. Zane looked around the lawn and said one small statement. "Nice place…"

Luigi quickly ran up to Mario, "Mario! There you are! Mama Mia, what happened to you, where have you been?" Mario gave Luigi a brotherly smile.

"It's a long story… What-a happened to-a you?" Mario asked. Luigi smiled slightly.

"Well as soon as the Earthquake started, I immediately hightailed it out of the castle. My quick footwork is what got me out in time!"

Mario's face soon turned panicked. "What about-a Clay?? Is he-a alright?"

Zane stared at Mario confused. Luigi quickly answered back. "Don't worry Mario! He got out as well! He would've went to help you, but he got a letter from his friend Diddy Kong, and he had to leave for Tiger Track Island." Mario held his hand to his chest, taking a deep breath.

"That's good…" He said after that cleansing breath.

Zane just continued to stare at Mario confused. "Clay? Who's Clay?"

Luigi's attention turned to Mario's partners. "Oh who are you two?"

Zane and Goombario introduced themselves, and Luigi did as well. After that, Mario recounted the story of his defeat at Bowser's hands, and about the Star Rod. Luigi was shocked about that for a second, but got over it, although he still seemed somewhat nervous. To answer Zane's question about Clay, Mario and Luigi explained about their third brother.

Clay, as Zane found out, was quite the sports star. Clay participated in the 3rd annual Mario Kart Grand Prix and won first place, making himself a well known figure in the world of racing. Clay's true first adventure however was during the Mario Brothers and Peach's short lived vacation in Dinosaur Land. He may have been a very small young man, but he got his first taste of adventure back then.

"I see… Clay, huh?" Zane said once hearing the details. "Sounds like a nice guy." Zane got up from his sitting position and looked at Mario. "Well it's been a fine and dandy 'how-do-you-do' Mario. But I need to get back to the dojo. I'm sure my dad's probably wondering where I am." He started to walk off. "Seeya…" Zane said as he jumped into the pipe.

Luigi stared at the warp pipe where Zane disappeared from and looked at Mario. "He always like this?"

Mario gave Luigi an angry glare. "Luigi!"

* * *

Zane appeared from the warp pipe and onto the busy streets of Toad Town. He started to walk through the dense crowds, making his way to the Toad Town Dojo. "Isn't this great?!" A young voice called from his left. Zane looked to see a young male toad, probably just seven years old, hugging an older toad, probably his father. "The castle being gone might be a bad thing… But at least Dad gets to come back home for a while!" After the boy said that, a toad girl probably just a year younger ran up and hugged her father. 

"Hey now you two, calm down! Please! I suppose it is a good thing that I'm coming back home for a while, huh?" The father asked, before the kids ecstatically agreed. After getting the kids down, an adult female toad ran up to the father and hugged him, she was probably the mother of the two kids and wife of the father. Zane looked pained at this. After all, he never knew his birth parents.

After a bit of a walk, he came to a building that stood to the side of the Toad Town Item Store. The building looked like a two story building with stairs leading up to the second floor. This was nothing more then the good old Toad Town Dojo. He walked up the steps, and opened the door at the top, only to see a welcoming sight. The room inside was a grand sight to behold, or at least to Zane. In the center of the floor, there was paint marking out a rectangular battle arena. On the walls hung Japanese literature… In the Japanese language, and the room was covered head to toe with dark brown wood.

Zane looked to the far side of the arena and saw two figures sparring. One looked like a beetle with a hard blue shell, and a small white head band wrapped around his head. The other looked like someone underneath a bed sheet trying to look like a ghost, only the bed sheet resembled a kind of blue martial arts fighting garb, and he had a dark red pony tail sticking out of the back of his head. They were the welcome sights of Chan and Lee. He smiled and slightly waved "Hey guys!" Chan and Lee stopped their sparring to look right at Zane. Both of them smiled lightly.

"Well, well, if it isn't good old Zane!" Chan, the hard shelled beetle, said.

"Heh, heh… I almost didn't think you'd make it back, after the whole earthquake thing started." Lee, the blue duplighost, said with his somewhat scratchy voice.

Zane smirked lightly at Lee's comment. "Oh come on Lee! You honestly didn't expect good old me to disappear during the earthquake did ya?" Zane approached the two trainee's and pulled out the newspaper he picked up earlier. "Here, just in case you two don't know what's going on outside." Lee took the newspaper, and took a good look at the front page.

"Man, oh man, didn't think things could get so serious so quickly!" Lee said, before turning the page. "Aw man! That Waclay won another Baseball game? The guy's a loser compared to Clay!"

"Hey don't hog the paper! Let me see!" Chan said bouncing up and down.

Lee sighed at Chan and handed him the newspaper. As Chan read quietly, a new voice came to Zane's attention. "So you are finally back! Zane, it's good to see you!" And old voice said, which was quickly followed by wheezing and coughing. Zane turned to see a familiar sight behind him. Standing right behind him, smiling an old man smile, was none other then the Dojo Master himself. The Dojo Master was a rather old toad with a scraggly white beard, wrinkles most everywhere, and slightly tanned skin. He wore a red hat instead of a mushroom hat, and a somewhat important looking red martial arts garb. The old teacher looked old and frail that much was for sure, but if there was one thing he learned during his time at the dojo, it was this... It didn't matter what someone looked like, looks don't tell a thing about how well someone fights.

Zane smiled at the sight of his old master. "Heya sensei! Looking as strong as ever!"

The Dojo Master smiled and old man smile. "Aw, your just trying to flatter your old father, now please..." He started to cough and wheeze. It went on for a second, until it stopped. "Did you bring the items I sent you to get?"

Zane smiled lightly and reached into his bag. "Yeah, their right here." After saying that, Zane pulled out the items of his chore... Goomnuts.

"They were actually very easy to find. No big deal really." The master took the goomnuts and examined them.

"Yes..." He said before he coughed. "These are exactly what I need for our future training."

Zane stared at the old master, trying to make sense of what he said. He shrugged his shoulders slightly deciding to ignore it. "So..." The master said, before he started his regular fit again. "Tell us Zane. By the looks on your face, I can tell you had a rather 'eventful' trip. Please tell me and your fellow students what happened."

Zane took a seat on the floor, and quickly recounted the tale of his trip back from Goomba Village. From the encounter with Jr. Troopa, to the big fight with the Goomba King, he told it all. However, he left out anything relating to his nightmares, for he feared his family's reaction. Once they heard the story, Lee and Chan were the first to react.

"Wow... You had to topple a two hundred pound goomba? Sounds kinda nutty." Chan said.

Lee thought for a second, "Not bad... So, Bowser's trying to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom again, eh?"

The Master slightly coughed this time and looked at Zane thoughtfully. "And you say that Mario told you that Bowser used something called a Star Rod to help defeat him?" Zane nodded. Since the Master knew a few things about myths, he looked into empty space angrily. "Hiding behind the power to grant all wishes... Bowser has certainly reached an all time low." The sensei said before having another coughing fit. He finished after a few seconds, just in time for Mario and Goombario to walk through the door. The Master turned to them. "I suppose you are here to pick up Zane?"

Mario nodded. "Yes. I'm guessing he told you what happened?" The master nodded. "Well then-a you should-a know that someone-a wishes to give me a message at Shooting Star Summit. I would like Zane to-a come along with-a me to hear-a the message as-a well."

The Master gave an old man smile. "Of course... Zane?" The Master called, catching Zane's attention. "Try to be careful. And as soon as you get back, We shall continue training, understood?"

Zane got up and bowed in respect. "Yes sensei."

* * *

After saying good-bye to Chan, Lee, and the Master, Zane went along with Mario to the place where the Mushroom Kingdom Castle stood... 

Well... ... ... Where it used to stand anyway...

In the place of the Mushroom Kingdom Castle was a huge gaping crater. The ground near it was completely dishelveled, there was a flag with the Mushroom Kingdom's symbol on it. But still, there was only one word Zane could find that could describe what he was looking at... Pure, utter, destruction... "Golly... Bowser really did a number on this place..."

Goombario looked down into the crater, with how dark it was some would think it was bottomless. "Man... I wonder how deep this is..."

Mario looked as well, only he seemed more... used too the whole thing. "Come on, we need to get to Shooting Star Summit." Zane and Goombario looked at Mario, nodded, and the three were on their way.

The group crossed a bridge that wasn't to far away from where Peach's castle used to stand. As they walked along, Zane noticed the sky was starting to get a bit darker, showing the stars as beautifully as they would the night sky.

_'Ting'_... Came a gentle ringing sound to their left. The group looked to see a fallen star on the ground near them. The star was there for a few seconds before it started to blink and disappeared. They all knew what that meant...

They had arrived...

Everyone looked around to see stars falling left and right, hitting the ground with a small bell like sound, before disappearing and falling down again. Zane looked up to see the stars twinkling beautifully in the sky, and a few streaks where some stars had fallen. It was like he and his friends had discovered a playground for stars to fall from the sky like a big slide, only to childishly reappear at the top to do it again. It was starting to become little wonder why this place was one of the greatest romantic spots in the Mushroom Kingdom, the place was probably one of the most beautiful area's Zane had ever seen. Goombario had similar sentiments; he stared at the area, mouth agape at what he was looking at. Mario must've seen it a time or two, cause he took it in with a stride.

As they walked along, the group soon saw a humongous rock face in front of them. Along the foot of this rock face, there were stars stuck in the ground. Upon closer inspection, Zane noticed they were more like statues of stars that had that familiar glow. "It's almost like the star was stuck here and the spirit inside had to leave..." Goombario said inspecting the statue himself.

Mario, meanwhile found a rocky staircase circling the cylinder rock face. "Guys, we'll-a continue onward here-a." Zane and Goombario turned to Mario, nodded, and moved along. The group continued to walk up the big staircase until finally they were at the top... The rocky ground was immediately replaced by a floor covered with strange hieroglyphics, depicting stars and Star Haven. Zane looked at each one with wonder, each marking told a different tale, and each crack on the floor left a legacy. It was almost like he found the ancient sand covered ruins in Sarasaland. Finally he looked up to see a new sight... A yellow star, no bigger then Mario was, and had a big white mustache...

"Welcome young ones... Welcome to Shooting Star Summit, the closest place in the world to the legendary 'Star Haven'..." Zane and Goombario stared at the strange sight, personally Mario did the same... The star was there, so to speak, but he was transparent... See-through. "I am Eldstar, I am the one who called Mario here. And I have an important thing to say to him..."

Zane stared wide eyed at the ghostly looking figure... "E-Eldstar?"

Eldstar nodded. "Indeed... Mario and Friends, come forward."

Everyone did as such, while Eldstar floated to the edge of the rockface. With a light pop sound, six other figures joined the group and Eldstar on the hill. One looked like a female star with a big pink bow on top of her head

One was a white star with goggle-like glasses, and a small mustache.

One looked like a young blue star, with a blue school boys hat on his head.

Another looked like a light pink female star, with a bit of lip gloss, and wore a scarf.

There was also another that was a yellow star, wearing a red bow tie, and carried a small book.

And the last one was a pale white star with a slight mustache and seemed to have a perpetual look of glumness on his face.

"We are the seven 'Star Spirits' of Star Haven... And we have come to plead to you for help... Let us explain our situation to you Mario..."

Eldstar went first. His voice was slightly old sounding with much wisdom in it. "A week ago... Bowser came and took the Star Rod away from our protection in Star Haven. And insealed us in special prisons to prevent us from stopping him..."

The female star with the bow went next. "You see... It is our Star Spirits job to protect the Star Rod and use it to grant the wishes of the good people of the Mushroom Kingdom. As well as protect it from those selfish enough to steal it..."

The white star with the glasses went next. "You see Mario, As you probably know by now, the Star Rod has the power to grant any wish, no matter how great. It was created by the same great spirit who created Star Haven as well as the Earth..."

He was followed by the young blue star. "We protected the Star Rod for centuries after its creation, using it's powers to grant wishes to the people of the Mushroom Kingdom, as well as Earth, turning them into the worlds they are now."

Immediately after he finished, he was followed by the pink star. "However... We 'Star Spirits' do not grant all wishes... For years we have recieved wishes from many people... One of which was King Bowser... He would slways make wishes such as... 'I want to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom', or 'I want Princess Peach to like me'. Of course us stars ignore such selfish wishes. So as a result, his wishes were never granted..."

The yellow star wearing the bow tie and carrying the book calmly went next. "Bowser must've found out his wishes were never granted... So he eventually found Star Haven and took the Star Rod for himself to grant his own wishes... We all fear that if he is not stopped... The Mushroom Kingdom will certainly perish under his iron grip. Which why we come to you to say... We need your help!"

The pale white star went last. "Mario, we are..." Suddenly their images started to turn to static. Zane looked startled at this.

"Honorable Star Spirits! What's going on?" Zane called trying to make sense out of all this.

The last Star Spirit continued from where he left off. "Alas young one... Our strength was weakened when Bowser came and took the Star Rod, and now... Our strength is fading..." The heroes gasped at that. "We have been captured by Bowser, and we're being held in different locations around the Mushroom Kingdom... Please Mario... No, Mario... Zane... Young Goomba... Help us please..."

All of the Star Spirits looked at the group pleadingly. Eldstar spoke with a begging tone. "If you can save us Mario, we can give you the power to fight against Bowser even with the power of the Star Rod... But in order to do this..." The message skipped slightly like a CD that skips a part of a song. "We need your help..." It skipped a part of the the message again. "Please save us... ... Mario... ... Zane..."

The Star Spirits suddenly disappeared in a flash of light. Everyone looked around the area... They were no where to be found... "Man... Things are a lot more serious then I thought..." Goombario said off handedly...

"No-a kidding... I-a hope Peach is alright..." Mario said letting the reality of it sink in. He turned to Zane. "Don't you think, Zane?"

Zane didn't answer. He was too busy staring at the sky, a single thought running through his mind... The 'Star Spirits' knew his name... He would've thought this was cool had it been a different situation... But now it made him wonder... "H... How did they know my name?.."

* * *

Me: Well there you have it... Next chapter, we'll get to see how Peach is doing, and we get to take our first real look at a new character!

Kuma: You certainly took your sweet time with this one...

Me: (Gives Kuma an angry glare.) So sue me... (Clears throat.) Anyways. Later on I'm going to be putting up a deleted scene where we get to see how Clay (NUTCASE's OC) is doing and see just how well I can actually portray him.

Wally: I'm sure you'll do just fine, Gantz! Don't be so down on yourself!

Ace: What Wally said! (Ace and Wally are now holding up a sign saying 'You go Gantz!' on it.)

Me: Aw shucks, guys... (Clears throat and turns to the screen.) All and all, that's chapter 6 of this fanfiction, and I will get that deleted scene going as soon as I can. (Gives a peace sign.) R&R people!

Wally and Ace: (Now having trouble holding the sign.) Until next update!! Whoa-a-a-a-a!

Kuma: (Noticing the sign.) Um, Gantz Gun, we may have a situation...

Me: (Noticing their trouble.) Whoa guys! Be careful with that. Be careful... FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S DECENT AND HOLY BE CAREFUL WITH THAT!..

(Camera gets hit by the sign cutting off the signal.)


	8. Meetings

Me: Well everyone, here's chapter 7 of our fic, 'Meetings'! In this chapter, we'll finally get a look at another one of my OC's. For those of you who read NUTCASE's work 'Mario Science Theater 3000', at the very end you will meet another familiar character that I allowed him to use. So keep your eyes and minds open!

(Ace is laughing about the watching her recording of 'Mario Science Theater 3000 Chapter 28' Wally and Kuma stare at her concerned.)

Kuma: Is she going to be alright, Gantz? She's been laughing for quite awhile.

Wally: No kiddin…

Me: (Sweatdrops slightly.) Oh right… Kuma (Said assistant stands at attention.) Can you help Ace to her room, please? (Kuma nods, picks up Ace and takes her to her room. Ace is laughing all the way.)

Me: Oy… Anyways here's the next chapter! ON WITH THE STORY!!!

* * *

_(I do not own the Mario franchise. I only own Zane, and anything else you don't recognize.)

* * *

_

Chapter .7.

Meetings

* * *

The view once again shows Bowser and Peach's castles. Inside Peach's Castle, the guards were still doing their jobs patrolling the first and second floor foyer. Once again sitting in front of the doorway to Peach's room was none other then Blaine 'Mallet' Zalles, who read the book he found in the library. So far he hadn't encountered anything in the volume about the strange figures he saw in his dream, but he was insistent. He suddenly heard a small sound come from the quiet room behind him. He placed his ear to the door and listened in. 

"Sniff… Oh Mario's probably hurt… Everyone's in prison… The Mushroom Kingdom will be destroyed if I don't do something…" The female voice of the princess said maturely before crying once again. "Oh! (Sobbing.) What am I going to do? I wish someone could help me…" Blaine made a sad face at what he heard…

The sound of someone clearing his throat came to Blaine's attention. The Hammer Brother turned to see King Bowser towering over him. Standing by his side was none other then Kammy Koopa. "Did the princess wake up?" Bowser asked. Blaine inwardly gulped, stood up, and saluted with his free hand.

"Yes sir… I guess she has." Trying to make himself look professional. Bowser grunted slightly.

"Well move out of the way! I wish to speak with her!" Blaine nodded immediately, and opened the door for the giant turtle tyrant. Bowser walked through the door, his body barely able to squeeze through the frame. Kammy slowly followed, taking a quick look at Blaine before going through the door. Blaine slowly closed the door leaving it open a hair so he could see what was going on inside.

Bowser and Kammy walked up to Peach. Bowser went first, laughing slightly. "Why hello, Princess Peach, how are you doing this fine day?"

Kammy walked to her master's side. "There's no use waiting for Mario this time, my dear! We're so high in the sky that not even Mario has a chance to climb all the way up here!"

Bowser pulls out the Star Rod while Peach keeps her head bowed, not out of respect but rather to keep her saddened face out of sight. "And even 'if' Mario finds his way up here, he nor anyone else can touch me so long as I have the Star Rod!" Blaine listened intently. "You know the power to grant all wishes? It's mine now! Isn't it just wonderful?!"

Kammy laughs evilly. "Do you want to know something else? Try to imagine just how miserable your subjects down in the Mushroom Kingdom must be now that their wishes aren't coming true!" She laughed at that. "Well, they DESERVED it for how they treated us koopas over the years!"

Blaine listened. _'The people of the Mushroom Kingdom aren't like that… Why can't they see that?'_

Bowser puts the Star Rod away and looks right at Peach. He seems to add in the next part semi-bashfully. "And Peach, if you, you know, want anything… All you have to do ask is ask me... I mean, I can grant wishes... So if you want anything don't hesitate to ask. I'll grant the wish... If it's one I'll agree with."

Peach makes no effort to look her kidnappers in the face. Bowser backed off slightly. "You just remeber that, got it?" He clears his throat. "Anyways me and Kammy better get going, we have a kingdom to rule!"

Kammy's eyes arched downward. "You be sure to behave yourself Princess! We have no room in this castle for troublemakers!" And with that they turn and take their leave. Blaine once again opens the door for Bowser and Kammy as they walk through.

As they walked past Bowser slightly whispered to Kammy. "Well that went rather well, don't you think?"

Kammy chuckled slightly under her breath. "Perfect as always, your majesty."

Blaine watched the two leave and then turned his sights back to Peach through the open door. Peach saw the koopa give her sympathetic look, before closing the door. She seemed confused about that koopa for a second, before she lowered her head once again. "If only someone will help me..."

_'Tap, tap, tap.'_ Came a sound from behind her. Peach turned to see the glass door leading to her balcony.

"Huh?" She said confused. As she approached the glass door. Once close enough, she saw a tiny little figure, floating in mid-air, knocking on the door, with it's free hand, well if you can call it a hand. As soon as Peach opened the door, the tiny figure floated inside. It was a star, and a rather small one at that, it also appeared male.

"Hello Princess Peach!" The star said with a somewhat high pitched, but friendly voice. "How do you do? I'm Twink!"

Peach stared at the star a second then happiness seemed to wash over her. "Oh! Your a Star Kid , are you not?" She then stared at the star confused. "But why are you here?"

Twink smiled kindly. "I'm here to grant your wish silly! That's what we Stars do you know!"

* * *

Neither of them noticed a pair of eyes watching them from the open door. Blaine had heard Peach talking inside and opened the door a hair to see what was going on. He never thought he'd see a Star Kid in the room, as well. "So that's what a Star Kid looks like..." He said to himself. 

"Oh! You mean the wish I made about someone coming to help me?" Peach asked sounding relieved. "Oh, this is wonderful!" She leaned in close to Twink to emphasize the point. "I have another wish as well: Please, I want you to go and take the Star Rod back from Bowser! Think you can do it?"

Blaine's eyes widened at that. He was about to call for help when he heard Twink's voice answer back. "... I'm sorry I can't do that..." He said with a sad tone. Blaine wiped the sweat from his forehead, and sighed with relief. He didn't know why. "Maybe one of the honorable Star Spirits could grant a wish like that. Can you make smaller wish? Something easy for a novice star like me?"

Blaine once again listened in, probably to hear Peach's response. "Well can you take me away from here? Everyone's in trouble and I need to rescue them as soon as possible!" Blaine listened closely to hear from Twink.

"I'm sorry... I can't do that either... Oh if only I was a more splendid Star then I could be of some real help..." Twink said, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

Peach, being the caring person she was, comforted the little Star. "Now, now, Twink don't cry..." Twink didn't start crying when she said that. "We don't have anything to worry about, after all. Mario is still looking for a way up here! He'll find us! I know he will." Right now the young koopa wasn't so sure he could agree with the princess' words. "Besides you answered my wish for help! That's a start!" Twink smiled ear to ear at that.

"Yeah your right! Someday I will become a star, but until then, I'll help you with whatever you need!" Twink said happily. Blaine smiled at the scene.

_'It is usually said; a princess sometimes takes after her subjects... If she is like this, then the people of the Mushroom Kingdom can't be all bad...'_ He looked at Peach who smiled along with Twink. _'Right?'_

Peach suddenly had a look of urgency on her face. "Oh! Twink I think I do have something easy for you to do! I want you to deliver something to Mario!"

Twink smiled some more. "If it's something small, I can do it!"

Peach reached into her pocket and pulled out a small star shaped pendant. "Do you think you could deliver this to him?" Twink took the pendant and smiled slightly.

"This is a 'Lucky Star Pendant' isn't it?" Peach nodded. Twink smiled some more. "Okay, this I can do! Don't you worry Peach! Mario will get it, I'll make sure of it!" Twink was about to fly off, before Peach suddenly stopped him.

"Oh, wait a minute Twink!" Twink stopped and turned to Peach. "Also... Could you give Mario this message?" Twink approached and listened in. "I'm fine and he shouldn't worry... Okay can you be sure he gets it."

Twink smiled kindly. "I'll tell him your exact words, Princess! Well I better be going!" He turned around. "I'll be back!" And with that the Star Kid flew off. Peach walked into the balcony area and that's where Blaine lost track of her. Seeing as how he couldn't see what else she was doing, he slowly closed the door, and went back to reading.

"Well, disaster averted... Now let's see, where was I?..." However Blaine's mind went back to what he saw. _'Could the people of the Mushroom Kingdom be nicer then Bowser let on? He certainly never said anything about that...' _Blaine thought before he continued reading.

Peach was now on the balcony looking out into the star filled sky. Her eyes looked saddened. "Mario... Where are you?..."

* * *

Meanwhile back on the solid ground, Mario, Goombario, and Zane were walking away from Shooting Star Summit, heading back to Toad Town. The whole group was letting their minds wander to what all they heard from the Star Spirits. Zane, however, seemed more bothered then any of them. After all, he wasn't the most popular figure, but the Star Spirits knew his name all the same. Zane even stopped to think about what he had heard. "How could the Star Spirits have known my name?... It just doesn't make sense..." Zane continued to think until he eyed something falling from the sky. "Hm? What's that? We left the immediate area of Shooting Star Summit a few seconds ago..." That was until he noticed something else... He didn't know what that thing was, but it was plummeting straight for one target... Mario... 

Zane panicked a bit. "Mario!!! Heads up!!!" Mario never registered the message fast enough...

'WHAAAM!!!'

Mario fell over from the hit, but soon got back up shaking his head to straighten out the dizzyness. The strange object got back up itself and turned to Mario. Zane and Goombario gawked when they saw it was a star kid! "Sorry, sorry, so sorry!! I'm in a huge hurry!!" The kid stopped apologizing and took a closer look at Mario. He started celebrating upon realizing who he was. "Wait a minute! Your Mario aren't you? Oh, thank the Star's I found you!!" It circled Mario, celebrating. Zane walked up to the Star Kid.

He cleared his throat catching the Star Kids attention. "Excuse me... But who are you?"

The Star Kid looked a bit intimidated by the toad for a second, but got over it and introduced himself. "Oh sorry! How do you do? I'm Twink! Princess Peach sent me down here to deliver something to you!"

That caught Mario's attention. "Peach sent you?"

Twink smiled slightly. "Yep! Now hold on a second, its here somewhere..." After a second of looking Twink pulled out a star shaped pendant. The Lucky Star. "Ah, here it is! It's the Lucky Star Pendant, Peach wanted me to give this to you."

Twink handed Mario the pendant. Mario held it for a second taking in every detail. Suddenly a flash of light appeared and covered Mario! Zane stared in awe at the strange happening, as did Goombario. The light disappeared after a second. Mario examined himself for any change... Nothing. Zane didn't see anything that much was for certain.

Suddenly, however, it was like Mario's body suddenly obtained a mind of it's own! He suddenly jumped up, this was quickly followed by another flip jump in midair, which is by all means impossible. If that wasn't enough, he suddenly did one of his uppercut jumps in midair as well!

* * *

**_("Aw, The Triple Jump trick... For those of you who recall, this trick was only usable in the Super Smash Bros series. A small trick, sure, but the action command wouldn't be able to fit in this story anymore, now would it?")

* * *

_**

Mario touched back down looking confident in himself. Zane and Goombario, however looked more then slightly surprised. "Holy!... How on Earth, did you do that?!"

Mario shrugged slightly. "I've been able to do that for quite a while... Can't believe I forgot it..."

Zane took the pendant to look at. "And this pendant helped you remember?" The second that last word left his mouth, the very same light covered him. Deep inside himself he remembered something that happened during his earlier days in training. It was like remembering a trick he used to do and he had forgotten about it till now. When the light finally left him, and he was back on the ground, he smirked slightly and rushed forward at a rock. With a great burst of strength, he released three different kicks against the rock, making it shatter like cheap glass. He had performed his own variation of 'Sensei Jinx's Triple Kick' attack. He chuckled to himself, "Oh yeah! I forgot that the move 'Jinxed' wasn't the only move I learned from Sensei Jinx! I also learned how to use the Triple Kick during his visit."

Goombario took the pendant this time, the light covered him for a second like his friends and before he knew it, he was attacking a nearby rock with a headbonk move. Only this time, he pushed his head toward the rock helping him bounce upwards. He did this a good five times before he stopped and landed next to his friends. "The 'Multibonk'! I could've sworn I used it before!" Zane chuckled slightly.

* * *

**_("What? Oh come on! The only time I'm going to use those those partner upgrading 'Super Blocks' is when I'll need it. Besides Goombario's action command is basically just two headbonks. It's no different from Multibonk where Goombario could hit the enemy as many times as he can.")

* * *

_**

"I guess the item Peach chose was well selected. It helped us remember some moves, and now we can fight more effectively." Zane took the pendant and placed it in his bag. He turned to Twink and nodded his head. "Good job with the delivery Twink. We'll keep the pendant safe."

Twink smiled, "That's good to hear!"

Another sound suddenly interrupted the quiet. "So there you are!"

Before anyone knew what was going on, a strange koopa appeared flying on a broom. It was a magic koopa in blue wizard robes, and strange goggle looking glasses on his face. It was obvious this Magic Koopa was low in rank. Twink looked somewhat spooked by his arrival. "Wha?.. Were you following me?"

The Magic Koopa snickered slightly. "Heh, heh! I knew if I followed you, I would find Mario and his friends! And just think! I'll be the Paratroopa to take you out! Oh the rewards I'll get! My teacher Kammy Koopa will give me praise; I'll even get a raise!" The Magic Koopa stopped daydreaming and looked down at the group. "I'll beat you here and now!!!"

Zane cracked his knuckles. "Bring it on, you daydreaming freak!" He said, before entering a martial arts fighting pose.

* * *

**_("At this point, imagine the 'Popple the Shadow Theif's Battle Theme' playing in the background. I liked how the song sounds, and made it Zane's battle theme... Popple and his battle theme are owned by Nintendo, and I'm not claiming to own them, please don't sue me.")_**

**_

* * *

_**

The Magic Koopa went first, shooting a magic blast from his wand. Zane and the others got out of the way. Mario quickly ran towards the Magic Koopa, with the magic blasts hitting the ground around him. The Magic Koopa wasn't trying to miss, everyone could tell, he was just a remarkably bad shot. Mario jumped up in the air, the Magic Koopa dodged by increasing his altitude. Mario made his second midair jump, getting closer. The Magic Koopa gawked at that and quickly climbed a bit more.

It wasn't enough...

Mario quickly used his uppercut jump, ending up above the Magic Koopa. With a swift downward kick, and with the help of the Power Jump Badge, the Magic Koopa was slammed back to a reachable altitude. Goombario quickly went next, using Multibonk on the dazed Magic Koopa. This attack made him fall off his wand and hit the dirt shell first. He got back up and saw Zane running full speed at him. The Magic Koopa fired a spell, but it missed by a western mile. Zane was now right in front of the now scared koopa; the mage realized now that maybe he was in a little bit over his head. "Try 'THIS' on for size!!!" Zane said before launching a feirce Triple Kick at the koopa sending him flying backwards. His back hit a rock and the poor guy was immediately down for the count. Zane shook his head pitifully. "Simply pathetic..."

* * *

**_("'Popple's (Zane's) Battle Theme' ends, and the Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Victory tune plays in the background.")_**

**_

* * *

_**

The Magic Koopa was back on his feet after a few minutes, before quickly mounting his broom. "OWWWW!!! You guys are bullies!!!" And with that, the Magic Koopa flew off into the night sky.

Twink celebrated at the Magic Koopa's defeat. "Wow!! Great job Mario! Your as strong as they say!" He flew around a little giving hip-hip horrays like a joyous little child... Which is what he was, considering he was a Star Kid. He flew up to Zane next. "And you my friend are just as powerful! You sent that koopa packing in second flat!"

Zane scratched the back of his head bashfully. "Heh, heh, thanks... I trained with the best!" He stopped the motion and leaned forward towards Twink's face. "And please my friend, call me Zane."

Goombario walked forward. "I'm Goombario!"

Twink smiled at that. "Okay nice to meet you guys!" Twink hiccupped in sudden urgency. "Oh I should probably get going! Peach is probably expecting me! I better go!" Twink started flying off, obviously heading back to Bowser's Castle... He suddenly came back, after a second. "Oh, I'm so scatterbrained! I almost forgot! Peach wanted me to give a message to Mario, as well!" Twink floated in front of them for a second. "She said this... 'I'm fine and you shouldn't worry.' Those were her exact words! Well I need to get back to the castle! Peach is probably waiting for me. See you guys later!" Twink turned back around and started flying back to Castle Toadstool, this time not to return.

Goombario stared in admiration at where Twink left. "There he goes heading back to Bowser's Castle... What a brave little guy..."

Mario nodded. "He is-a isn't he?"

Zane nodded as well and soon the threesome was on their way back to Toad Town.

* * *

**_("The rest of the chapter will be told through another character's point of view... Who is it, you ask? You'll find out soon enough. Enjoy!")

* * *

_**

I continued standing from behind the rock face watching the three figures walk away... I had been following them for a little bit and trying to find the nerves to bring myself out in the open and introduce myself... No such luck... I was always the shyest member of my family, and making new friends was never my 'cup of tea'. I was now standing in the shadows near a future badge shop owned by this wierd doogan named Rolf, and his child. After a bit, Mario, the goomba, and the toad walked through the gates that used to lead to Princess Peach's Castle. The second they walked through, a toad standing near the gate turned to them and immediately gave them a message. "Oh Mario, there you are! Our resident fortune teller Merlin was looking for you!"

The Toad in the martial arts jacket answered back to that. "What?! Merlin?! Why would he want to see us?" He rubbed his chin slightly. "He's hardly seen anyone these days..."

The messenger toad just responded with, "I don't know! H just came out of his house and asked me to stay here. He also told me to give that message to Mario and his friends." I couldn't help but giggle slightly at that. My good old uncle was always like that.

The goomba boy with the cap spoke next. "Well, if Merlin wants to see us we better get going to see him! I hear he can see the future!"

That seemed to strike a chord in the young toad that was traveling with Mario. "HMM! Seeing the future... Sounds like a bunch of huey to me." I didn't get mad... I personally couldn't blame him. I didn't believe it myself when I heard my family was full of Fortune Tellers.

Mario went next. I could tell it was Mario, because he matched the descriptions I had heard. "Well, we-a better go see-a what he wants. After all, his predictions do sometimes have a lot of truth to them, Zane." He looked less sceptical.

The Toad with the Martial Arts Jacket, whom I figured was named Zane, scoffed at Mario then shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, whatever."

After saying that they went over to Merlin, my uncle's, house. It wasn't that hard to miss seeing as how it was the house with the spinning roof. Mario knocked on the door a few times, while Zane and the goomba boy stood behind him. A voice came from the other side of the door. "MERLIN IS OUT!!!" Mario obviously begged to differ and knocked again. The shout was now a lot louder then before. "**WHY DO YOU KEEP KNOCKING!?!?!?!?!? I'M TELLING YOU, HE'S OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"** And with that, my uncle slammed the door open to see who was knocking... Slamming it into Mario's face while doing so.

Mario looked dazed for a second before passing out on the ground. I would've laughed at the sight, but that would've been rude. The toad laughed where I didn't. "GAAAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, HAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

My uncle finally looked to the ground noticing the unconscious Mario. "Hmm? Why is there a man sleeping in front of my house?" Zane only laughed harder at that.

* * *

**_("Heck even I laughed at that line, when I first read it.")_**

**_

* * *

_**

Merlin looked at 'said man' closer. "Wait a minute... Something about him seems familiar..." At that point Mario finally got up and dusted off his clothes. Merlin suddenly got that enlightened look on his face. "Oh Mario! Perfect timing. I was expecting you to come." Zane finally stopped laughing and got up.

"So why'd you call us here, Merlin?" Zane asked getting a curious gleam in his eye.

The goomba boy went next. "It's a real honor to meet you Merlin. But I agree with Zane, why call us?"

Merlin looked at the somewhat motely group. "I wish for you three to step inside... I must speak with you." And with that Merlin walked into his house, Mario, the goomba boy, and Zane coming in behind them... Zane shut the door as he went in.

I continued to watch for a second until I stepped out of the shadows, walking towards Merlin's door... I had certainly caught some unwanted attention from the people around me. I couldn't blame them...

After all, I was a member of the Merlin family myself, and I was certainly an odd sight. I kept my normal cloak wrapped around my body tightly, any curves I had were hid from view. The only thing of my person anyone could see was my hair. A long time ago when I first recieved this cloak from my uncle, I cut a small hole into the back of the hood, which allowed a place for hair to peek through. Now a few years later from that same hole, anyone could see lower-back long, aqua blue hair. A strange color I know, but I was born with it...

My name was Meriee of the Merlin Clan... And I wanted in the depths of my heart... To better understand the mystery that was...

... ... ... Zane T.

* * *

Me: BOOM!! And here she is! The one and only, Meriee!... ... Not bad, huh? For those of you who don't know Meriee, she was another one of my characters loaned to NUTCASE. She made her first appearance alongside Zane in the 'Diddy Kong Racing' arc. 

Ace: Wow so that was Meriee?... ... So mysterious looking...

Me: Thanks. Exactly what I was going for!

Wally: Not bad... You really added in some mystery there. But mate, don't you think 'aqua blue hair' is kinda... Well I don't know... Final Fantasy'-ish?

Me: Hey if you recall correctly, classic Final Fantasy characters, such as moogles, cactuars, a white mage, and a ninja, were playable characters in Mario's first Basketball video game. Name 'Mario Hoops: Three on Three' for the DS... HAH!! Didn't think I thought that through did ya?

Kuma: (Sweatdrops) Coulda' fooled me...

Me: Shut up...

Ace: Still, I think the hair is nice touch, really adds a new look to a character. Something that I bet no authors tried to before.

Me: Thank you Ace.

Wally: Still someone could've used stuff like that.

Me: Don't bring me down Wally, I'm feeling good about myself.

Kuma: More like full of yourself...

Me: Hey you shut it! If I have anymore lip fom you, I'll make sure your kicked out by my security drone!

Kuma: You've truely reached an all time low... First you allow some other author to use your characters so they could gain publicity, and then you bring one of the nerdiest girls I have ever met to the Authors booth to serve as comic relief... Then you threaten to use a security drone to kick me out?! Your pathetic

Me: (Eyes narrowing angrily.) Hey give me a break, I'm fifteen! What do you expect? (Turns to see Ace, who's starting to get angry. My eyes widen.) Ohhhh Crud...

(Turns to look at Kuma.)

Me: Kuma your still my character, and I can show concern, so I'm saying you better leave before you get hurt!

Kuma: Oh yeah? You and what army? You and that crazed fan-girl back there? (Ace is slowly getting angrier and is taking the tennis racket she always carries on her belt. Wally at this point knows whats going to happen and runs for his life.) I don't see what she can do to me...

(I turn to see Ace taking a Bob-omb from her pocket. I turn to Kuma growing steadily more panicky.)

Me: Listen Kuma, I know we've had disagreements lately, but I'm telling you this not for my sake but yours. Either apologize for what you said, or else they'll be consequences...

Kuma: And that would be? (Ace throws up the Bob-omb and serves.)

(He never knew what hit him... The mountain is shown again... **'KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'** )

**

* * *

**

MMSB (My Personal Message Room Security Drone. Also has the personality, look, and voice of Knuckles the Echidna.): We at 'Gantz Gun Fanficition Productions' apologize for the techinical difficulties. We shall be back with you next update. Until then, R&R!!


	9. Next Stop Koopa Village!

(The screen is all static for a few seconds, until it comes back on, revealing Me. The Authors Booth is in shambles, with Wally, and MMSB cleaning the mess up. Ace, however, is sitting on a piece of debris sobbing slightly.)

Me: Hey everyone! Please pardon the mess, but we're still cleaning up the mess from last chapter. Anyways, here's Chapter 8: 'Next Stop Koopa Village!' In this chapter, we'll have the heroes first meeting with the Koopa Bros, not to mention there arrival in Koopa Village to see it's (Clears throat.) 'Pest Control Problem'.

(I turn to look at Ace, who's still sobbing slightly.)

Me: Ace, please take it easy.

Ace: But Gantz, you weren't even able to get updates in because of the blast.

Me: Actually Ace… I haven't been able to update, because I've been grounded from the computer for a while… It's somewhat embarrassing so don't even bother asking why. So trust me, the lack of updates isn't your fault.

Ace: (Wipes away tears.) Really?

Me: (Gives a reassuring smile.) Really.

Ace: (Smiles too.) Thanks Gantz… Really…

Me: So anyways… (Turns back to the screen.) Here's the nex chapter! Enjoy!!

* * *

Chapter .8.

Next Stop; Koopa Village!

* * *

Meriee slowly lifted her head to the window and looked inside. Merlon was now on his usual side of the counter, with Mario, Zane, and Goombario on the other. "I'm glad you three could come. I have much to share." Goombario looked up at Merlon expectantly. 

"So Merlin… Why did you want to see us?" Goombario said. Zane even seemed interested now.

"Yeah, why call us?" The young toad said, eyeing the oracle.

Merlon's yellow eyes turned to Zane and seemed to take in the young figure. His eyes moved to all of Zane's features, taking in every last detail. The young toad lifted an eyebrow questionably. "Can I help you with something?" Merlon stopped his examination and went back to the matter at hand.

"There is an important matter I must speak to you about. But before I do so, I must explain what happened with a story..." Goombario suddenly looked surprised by this.

"A story? No offense sir, but aren't your stories really long and stuff?" Goombario asked. Zane took Goombario's words to consideration.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. But I will try to shorten it, seeing as how you have to make good time." Merlon looked at the heroes a bit, and soon turned around. "You see this goes all the way back to my childhood, when I was a mage in training. You see..." Merlon seemed somewhat happy as he went through his childhood memories. "One time when I was a boy, I was checking over the stars as usual, nothing of it seemed too important..." The old mage's face, although the heroes didn't see it both because of the hood and because he was turned away, suddenly turned excited. "Suddenly this oracle descended upon me with all of it's grace!..." Zane's eyelids were starting to get heavy, he couldn't tell, but Mario and Goombario were starting to have trouble keeping their eyes open as well. The speech was starting to get blurred out. "... ... ... But I was so young then!... ... ... I accepted the... ... ... ... Then I... ... ... ... And... ... ... ... ... ... Then... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... So... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..." Finally everything was lost to the tree heroes as they fell asleep.

Probably an **_hour_** or so later, Merlon finally wrapped up his story. "And that's all that matters..." He finally turned back to the three heroes to see they were all asleep. Mario was sleeping standing up, Goombario had fallen forward and was laying on the front side of his torso, Zane had just, flat out, fell over on his back, snoring lightly, a bit of drool coming from his mouth, and his arms out to his side. Merlon looked at the sight for a second before suddenly yelling, **"HEY!!! WERE YOU THREE EVEN LISTENING TO MY STORY AT ALL?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"** Everyone woke up with a start, jumping back on their feet, if necessary, and quickly giving reassurances that they had been listening.

Meriee, who was still watching from the window, was probably the only one who didn't fall asleep during that time. After all, she had lived with her uncle for most of her life during mage training, and was already used to having to listen to her uncle's **RIDICULOUSLY** long stories. Merlon was angry for a bit before calming down. He cleared his throat a little. "Anyways... Long story, short... I am able to help you in your quest."

Zane stared skeptically. "How so?"

Merlon looked to the crystal ball on the counter. "Should you ever get lost and not know where to go, come see me... I will point you in the right direction." After saying that, something amazing happened! Merlon suddenly used his power on the crystal ball, allowing him to see into the oracles eyes, all the while giving off one **HECK** of a light show!! After a few minutes, the lights disappeared and the room returned to normal. Merlon looked back at the heroes, "The first Star Spirit you seek is in the confines of Koopa Bros. Fortress."

Mario and the others looked confused. "Koopa Bros-a Fortress? What and where is that?"

Merlon took a closer look at his crystal ball. "You must head east on Koopa Path. The castle is at the end of the path."

Everyone nodded, well except for Zane. "In most normal cases, I'd think your just chock full of..." Zane stopped there upon seeing Merlon's face, his yellow eyes were slightly changing red, probably indicating that he was reserving judgment for what he was going to say next. Zane starting to get nervous upon this, quickly corrected himself. "Well I'm not much of a Fortune Telling enthusist, but seeing as how we don't have an other leads, we might as well go for it!" Merlon's eyes returned to normal, a sign of him calming down.

"Okay then..." Merlon looked at his crystal ball again. "You may go, that is all I have for you, for now."

Mario and everyone else nodded their heads and went to the door. Zane stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the window. For a split second he thought he saw a robe similar to Merlon's and a pair of yellow eyes staring at him, but in the same time it took for Zane to blink, the figure was gone. Zane stared at that window for a while, shrugged and walked off.

As Mario and the others walked off, Meriee slowly appeared from the other side of Merlon's house. She eyed Zane, who around that time had put his hands behind his head in a laid back pose. Meriee almost seemed confused about everything she had seen. The boy was truely something else, that much was for certain.

She allowed her mind to wander to the past; her younger days with Merlon while in training, recieving her ceremonial robe, (Which she had to take a few years to grow into.) and her more fun times when she'd hang around with her cousin Merluvee. She shuddered when she suddenly remembered the main reason she came looking for Zane. A rather strange dream came to her some time ago...

* * *

(Enter Flashback Dream Sequence.) 

There was a meadow... A beautiful meadow with flowers as beautiful as they were exotic. The smells could in-trance anyone, and the sky was clear blue, with not a cloud in the sky. Sitting in the middle of the meadow was a young girl with long ocean blue hair, and slightly big yellowish green eyes. She picked a flower and took a deep whiff of it. Suddenly a strong wind picked blowing the petals of the flower. The girl stood up and looked around, the meadow was still there but, slowly, ever so slowly, the grass was being replaced by an ashy landscape. It was similar to what she heard Dark Land was like, lava-filled pits dotted the landscape, there was a few dead tree's, black with ash, and most presumably dead. The girl continued to walk until a strange light caught her eye. It was a miniscule light and was almost unnoticeable, but the girl saw it just fine. Strangely she heard someone sobbing somewhere. The light suddenly turned around, revealing itself to be a star kid.

The Star Kid stared at the girl fearfully. "W-who are you?" The star said, it's voice was male but high pitched.

The girl, not wanting to frighten the little star spoke softly. "You don't need to worry I'm not here to hurt you."

The Star Kid suddenly got a resentful look on his face. "LIAR!!" It shouted loudly. The little star started to hover backwards, his eyes never leaving the girl. "Everyone wants to do me harm! Everyone thinks I'm better off dead! You hear me?!? DEAD!!!" He lowered himself down, till his lower points touched the ground, he lowered his center which had his face. "I don't blame them... I did this... ... ... ... ... ... I did all this... ..." He started to cry his little eye's out after finishing that sentence.

The girl approached the star kid slowly, once close enough she picked him up. "Surely, not everyone wants you dead..."

The star looked up into the girls kind eyes then lowered his gaze. "Yes... everyone..."

The girl looked at the surroundings, tears came to her eyes. "Is there something I can do?"

The star widened his eyes at the question. he suddenly lifted himself out of the girls arms. "There-there is!"

The girl stared at the star. "Okay... What can I do to help you?"

The star frowned. "Oh no. There is nothing you can do to help me... But there is someone who can prevent this..." The star motioned to the dark landscape. "From happening."

The girl stared. "Who?"

The star stared her deep down into the eyes, and said one statement. "Seek the help of a toad... He will visit your Uncle soon... His name is..." The star suddenly started to become transparent. The girl looked at him frantically.

'"What's going on?!? What's happening to you?!?" The star noticed what was happening and sighed.

"It seems my time has come... finally... No more suffering..." He looked to the girl. "Before I leave, here is his name..."

He slowly started to disappear, once he was finally no more, a name carried over on the wind... The one name the girl would always remember.

"Zane... T."

* * *

Meriee would always be freaked out by that dream. The little star sounded so guilty in the dream... How did he know about this Zane? Why did he always insist that the landscape was his fault? Now that she looked at Zane T., she really didn't see what was so special about him. 

After Zane went to talk to the Dojo Master about going on the journey with Mario, and stocking up on supplies, the trio of adventurers started to head to the east end of Toad Town... What really surprised them, (And Meriee for that matter.) was that right then and there, there were four dark skinned and clothed toads standing in the walkway. Each one had different color spots on their hats, in order they were red, black, green, and yellow. The red one approached the group and crossed his arms making him seem tough. "Sorry tough guys! no one gets through here!"

The black one went next, "It's been getting dangerous on the path lately. Wouldn't wanna' hurt yourselves would ya'?"

The green one followed. "Yeah you can't go! Bowser's Troops have been getting really nasty in that area. So I wouldn't recomend going."

Last, was the yellow one. "The monsters are concentrated on Koopa Bros Fortress, really don't know why, but hey... Why should I care?"

Meriee watched as Zane suddenly pushed past Mario looking quite pissed. "Really I don't care if you guys are here to protect the health of the people here in Toad Town..." He cracked his knuckles. "If you don't get out of our way, I'm gonna personally make you eat the pavement... One brick at a time!"

The red dark toad walked up, it was hard to tell if he was angry or acting cocky. Probably both. "Heh... I'd like to see you try. After all, whats one little toad, such as yourself, going to do against four big toads like us?" Mario, Goombario, and Meriee noticed the red Dark Toad was right. They did surpass Zane in height, probably by four inches. Zane, however, was too enraged about the insult to notice.

The view takes Zane and the dark toads out of the picture, so it only shows Mario and Goombario. Suddenly started to shout, the shout was so loud anyone within a 10 mile radius could hear him, and it was so powerful it sent a strong vocal gust which made Mario bend backward from the waist up, and Goombario had to hold onto the ground purely by his shoes traction to the ground. "**YOU DON'T LOOK SO GOOD YOURSELF, YA' DARK-SKINNED, GOTHIC, FREAKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"** What happened next was nothing less then an all-out slaughter. The Dark Toads getting the short end of the stick.

The entire brawl was comically covered by a dust cloud with a fist coming into view every few seconds. The Dark Toads were letting out little girl screams as it went on.

"WHOA DUDE!!! STOP!!! OW, THAT'S MY NOSE!!!"

"GAAAAAAAH!!! OH THE AGO-OW!!!"

"AIYEEE!!!!! THE PAIN!!! THE UNDESCRIBABLE, TORMENTING..!" (Zane's fist landed in that certain Dark Toad's mouth, at that moment.)

"WHOA!!! HEY DUDE HAVEN'T YOU EVER HEARD OF PEACE AND LOVE IN THE WORLD?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" That was answered with a fist upside his head.

Mario and Goombario looked at the fight almost fearfully. Zane was tearing the poor Dark Toads to pieces. Right there at that moment, Mario and his goomba friend couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor toads. "Mario!!!" Mario jumped at how sudden that was. He turned to see Merlon behind him. "I'm sorry I frightened you Mario, but there was a part of your fortune I forgot to reveal to you."

Mario sighed, trying to get over his near heart-attack. "Okay, what it is it?"

Merlon nodded and turned to the fight in front of him. "First off... **DUCK!!!**" Everyone did as such... Just in time for the Yellow Dark Toad to rocket over them and crash into one of the Toad Town walls. Zane left the fight, grabbed the Yellow Dark Toad, and slowly pulled the poor guy back into the brawl.

'Said guy' was now clawing the ground and cement trying desperately to escape. "NO DUDE!!!! HAVE MERCYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" His scream was cut off by the fight continuing.

After a few minutes passed, the dust cloud disappeared and Zane was standing victorious in front of the Eastern exit. The dust cloud still covered the Dark Toads, who were no doubt unconscious and beaten to a black and blue pulp. "HAH!!!!!!" The dust cloud started to get thinner as he continued. "That'll teach ya'..!" The dust cloud finally gone away. "Ya' bunch of sti-----... WHAT THE FRIGGIN HECK?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

Right where the Dark Toads were supposed to be, there were koopa's with ninja headbands and koopa shells of a different color. It was obvious they were in disguise as the Dark Toads. The red one groaned in pain and slowly stood up. He had so much beat out of him that there was hardly anything left, thus he had trouble standing. He pointed dazily at Zane. "Okay you're a lot tougher then I thought you were..." His different colored companions soon got up too. "But it'll take more then that, to stop the dark toads!"

Right then, he noticed Zane was staring at him strangely. The red wearing koopa stared back. "What do I have something on my face?"

Zane suddenly got angrier then he had ever been. **"I THOUGHT THERE WAS SOMETHING STRANGE ABOUT YOU!!!"**

The black koopa looked slightly nervous at that. "What are you talking about? We're just a couple of cute toads hanging around... That's all!"

Zane stared at them for a second... Then started laughing his fool head off. "I don't know who you guys are trying to fool, but you seriously need to look in a mirror right now!!" He said, before he continued to laugh like a hyena. Mario and Goombario were starting to laugh a little as well.

The red koopa slowly looked down on himself, then turned to his companions. Indeed their disguises were gone. Red started to look panicky. "Holy..! That psycho beat the living tar out of us, and beat off our ingenious disguises!!"

Merlon approached the bunch of koopa's and stared at the koopas angrily. "I should've thought as much! You're the Koopa Bros!!"

The Koopa Bros looked shocked at that. "DUDE!! How did you know who we are?!?!?!?" Yellow shouted in disbelief.

"Yellow... He's MERLON... He knows stuff like this..." Green said in annoyance.

Yellow looked clueless at that. "... ... ... Seriously?"

Everyone passed out animated style from disbelief. When Green got back up, he hit Yellow in the back of the head. "Idiot."

Red turned back to his partners. "SHOOT!! Our covers blown!! Black, Green, Yellow! We retreat..! For now."

And with that, the Koopa Bros ran away, supremely fast. So fast, in fact, you'd think the devil himself was chasing after them. Or they were just running away from Zane. Most preferably the latter.

Merlon approached the trio and continued from there. "Mario, Zane, Goombario... Those 4 rapscallions you just seen were the Koopa Bros. They own the castle that you must go to to find the first Star Spirit. They are also some of Bowser's best troopers. So there's no doubt in my mind they won't give up the Star Spirit without a fight."

It was Goombario's turn to act confident. "Those guys?!?!? Man, they looked like complete jokers! Besides, Zane beat the living tar out of those guys in less then a second! How tough could they be?"

Mario responded accordingly. "Well they have to be somewhat tough to-a be in trusted with-a a Star Spirit."

Merlon nodded. "The only reason Zane beat them is because they were caught off guard. You will have to be careful around them, there's no telling what those koopas might do." He took a few steps away rom the group and finished his earlier statement. "Anyways the second thing I forgot to reveal was that in order to get to Koopa Bros Fortress you will need help from a 'Blue Shelled Koopa'." Everyone looked confused at that. "It is a rather strange omen. But it has come to my attention that a place called Koopa Village is along the way to the Fortress. Perhaps you will find your answers there." He turned back to the group. "I wish you luck on your journey. And remember, if you ever lose your way and you don't know where to go, come see me. I will point you in the right direction." He bowed slightly. "Until then I bid you farewell." and with that Merlon left for his house.

Everyone watched him go, before continuing on the path. Zane said the next thing that came to mind. "Well... That was a pretty interesting visit."

Mario crossed his arms as they walked. "I told you his predictions were usually accurate."

As they disappeared onto Koopa Path, Meriee watched them go. "Wow... Zane flattened them..." She looked fearful for a second. "I'd hate to run into him in a dark alley..." After saying that, Meriee quietly ran after them. "I can't lose them now. Zane may very well, be able to tell me what that dream meant!"

* * *

Me: And there you have it! I'd love to stay and chat but I have some more chapters to write! Not to mention, a deleted scene for NUTCASE's Fanfic, 'PokeMario!'! I hope you've enjoyed this one, and I apologize for taking so long, so... (Gives a Peace Sign.) R&R People! 

(Wally and Ace are in the background holding a sign with the 'Gantz Gun Productions' logo on it.)

Wally and Ace: Until next update!!

(It's shown that Auto, who's FINALLY out of the hospital, is staring at Ace angrily.)

Auto: I'll get you back for the humiliation you gave me... Count on it!


	10. Fuzzy Epidemic

(The Camera comes on revealing Me in a mountainous location.)

Me: Hello everyone! Gantz Gun here! I know what your going to ask. Why am I in a mountainous region, and not in the safe confines of my Authors Booth? Well, there was a disasterous accident in the Authors booth, involving a few bombs, a rampaging robot, and a very pissed off 'Dark Bender', but I'm not going in detail. Anyways, even with the dangerous conditions I'm in, I managed to get the next update in! ON WITH THE STORY!!!

* * *

Chapter .9.

Fuzzy Epidemic

* * *

Koopa Village... A usually peaceful place with some of the frendliest and most laidback koopas you can find... But not today... Today the town was in a total uproar! Almost everywhere the villagers looked there were strange hyperactive creatures running amuk around town. To add in the feeling of anger and craziness of the event, the creatures were snatching the koopa villagers shells, and running around the village keeping them out of the owners reach.

Mario and his friends had the unfortunate luck of strolling into town right smack dab in the center of it. They had just finished walking through the relatively peaceful Koopa Path, which was strangely devoid of any enemies. As Mario, leading Goombario and Zane walked into town, a koopa suddenly an up to them, deftly dodging the strange, hyperactive furballs as he went. "Wow it's been a while since we had visitors! How are you? Aw where is my mind going?" His voice suddenly got panicky. "If you really intend on staying in town, I suggest you hold on to anything you haven't got bolted down!"

Mario was the first to ask the number one question. "Why? What's-a going on?"

The Koopa looked around, "I'll tell ya what's going on! Fuzzies, man! They've gone HOG-WILD and are stealing things left and right so fast it's making the villagers heads spin!" He looked at the travelers. "So if I were you I'd watch it, no telling when they'll take your shells!"

Everyone stared at him confused, "Hate to burst your bubble sir, but we don't have shells." Zane said, with a matter-of-factly tone.

The Koopa looked flustered at that. "Oh... Yeah... Well in that case watch your overalls, stache-man!" He said pointing at Mario.

Before anyone knew what happened, a strange, deranged furball known as a Fuzzy appeared and took the koopa's shell revealing an undershirt and underwear. It happened so fast, the koopa didn't realize what happened till the Fuzzy was a few paces away. "HEY!!! Thats my shell, man!!!" The koopa said chasing after him.

Everyone sweatdropped at this. "Okay... There's something you don't see everyday..." Suddenly a fuzzy jumped over Zane's head and ran off. It took Zane less then a second to realize that his backpack had been swiped by the fuzzy. "What the... **HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GIVE ME BACK MY BACKPACK, YOU MISERABLE, PESKY, LITTLE, PIECE OF..!!"**This was followed by a string of curses that no one would've thought possible for one sentence.

Mario shook his head with an annoyed sigh, it wasn't at the situation in the village, He would've been happy to handle the rather strange 'pest control problem'. He was annoyed by Zane's... _Tirade_. "We-a better get to-a work." He pulled out his hammer. "Before Zane successfully pronounces every single-a curse in the-a english dictionary."

Goombario nodded, looking at the situation. "Okay... Were dealing with Fuzzies here, so we gotta hit em' fast and hard. They're pretty weak so that should do them in." Mario nodded, broke into a run and slammed his hammer into the fuzzy that had taken the shell of the koopa they were talking to earlier. The Fuzzy ran off shouting something along the lines of 'Meeeyooooork!!' in pain, and the koopa slipped the shell back onto his person.

"Dude, you are my hero! I mean I would not want to be running around town in my underwear. Talk about embarrassing!" Mario smiled lightly and nodded.

"Understood-a..." Mario said before running off to find whoever else had trouble with the fuzzies...

* * *

Meanwhile, Zane had made some new 'friends' of his own.

"Man! Pesky little... GET BACK HERE!!!" Zane was in a big dirt circle, chasing around the Fuzzy who had taken his backpack. The fuzzy was just zig-zagging in the circle avoiding Zane with little effort, while the toad was getting more pissed of by the second. He wasn't the only one angry about the fuzzies rampage, right now he could hear the entire village shouting at the fuzzies because they had stolen their shells. Zane finally stopped to catch his breath while the crazed little parasite bounced up and down laughing at the toad in its own little language. Zane grimaced at the creature. 'DARNIT! I can't catch the little pest! and I've got important things in that backpack!' Zane took a deap breath and calmed down. 'Okay Zane don't lose your temper now, you need to keep cool. Okay think, your a black belt, third degree, you need to think of something inventive. Something that little piece of trash won't soon forget...' He thought and thought until finally it came to him! He put both feet to his side, held his arms outward, closed his eyes... and did nothing.

The fuzzy was quite confused at this development. Did the kid finally give up? He slowly approached the toad carefully being mindful to watch in case he moved even an inch. The fuzzy was finally at Zane's feet. It slowly touched the toads foot... He didn't budge. The fuzzy touched the other foot... Not even a inch. The fuzzy smiled giddily, thinking it now had it's own little play thing. It shoved Zane's foot, he didn't even budge. The parasite laughed heartily, and continued to poke Zane at where-ever it's little hand could reach. It finally jumped on his head and started bouncing on it, 'meorking' playfully.

That would be the worst mistake it could ever make...

Before it even saw what happened, a hand suddenly grabbed the miserable, hairball. Another hand wrenched the backpack away from the Fuzzy's grip. The hand brought the fuzzy to it's owners face... Zane's, surprisingly calm, yet obviously pissed off face. "Slaughter time, you miserable excuse for a stuffed animal."

The fuzzy could only gulp nervously as Zane slipped the backpack around his arm, reeled back, and swung forward, slamming it in the face. The little fuzzy went flying throught the air...

* * *

The view shows the inside of a house. The living room was a plain one, with a small reading desk, a fire place, and a small entertainment center. Another one of the rooms is what would catch attention, however... The room was a Isle Delfino themed room with beach background wall paper. A small stereo was playing a relaxing beach tune, as a young figure lying in a hammock listened in a relaxed manner. This koopa boy was a young one with small red wristbands around his wrists and a red bandana around his neck. The most unique feature of this koopa was the strangely colored light-blue shell.

The koopa lounged on the hammock a little bit, and soon got up. He stretched slightly and yawned a little as well. "Well, at least none of those stupid fuzzies try to get inside houses... They like it better to harrass anyone outside." The koopa, upon seeing the fuzzy invasion start, went inside the safe confines of his home and allowed the whole thing to blow over. He was obviously the kind of koopa who didn't want any trouble.

* * *

_**("For those who know who this character is, and probably feel like saying something about adding in a this kind of characterization to him, hear this! You see you can tell a lot about a person by how they decorate their room. Since 'This character' has a Hawiian theme room, I thought adding on a side of, to put it bluntly, laziness, would make him more life-like and truthful to his own room setting. So please, no comments about this.")

* * *

**_

The koopa slowly walked through his living room, and toward his front door. He gripped the front door knob, and slowly opened it. "I wonder if the whole thing blew over yet..." He said as the door opened all the way...

**CRASH!!!!!!!!**

Something flew and crashed right into him, causing him to involuntarily close the door, and crash backward into the house. When he looked up from the floor he saw an unconscious fuzzy. It slowly woke up and looked at it's new settings... It's eyes landed on the koopa and, to the koopa's nervousness, started to eye his shell mischievously.

* * *

Meanwhile back outside, Zane slipped the bag around his other arm, and it was safely on his back. He smiled, satisfied to have it back. "Ah... So good to have you back..."

He looked up... To see he was completely surrounded by fuzzies. Zane's eyes twitched and he grimaced, his face unreadable. "Awww... Crap..."

* * *

**SMASH!!!!!!!**

Mario had just taken care of the last fuzzy. It gave a painful 'MEEORK' before dropping the shell it was carrying and ran away with it's tail in between it's legs... If it had a tail... The koopa the shell belonged to, slipped it on and gave Mario his most sincere thanks. Mario let him know it was no trouble, and walked on, Goombario right at his heels. "I wonder if Zane's okay..." Goombario said worriedly. Mario looked at Goombario and smiled lightly.

"Don't you-a worry. From what I've-a seen, Zane can-a handle himself." As soon as he said that, a huge ruckus errupted on the other end of town. Among the noise was one solitary voice.

He was yelling angrily, **"YOU WANT SOME OF THIS!?!?!?!?!? WELL COME GET SOME!!!!!!!!"** Then the sound of punches being thrown and recieved were heard. Mario, now getting worried about Zane's safety himself, pulled out his hammer and ran for the end of town the fight was coming from. Goombario followed, preparing himself for whatever was going on. When they got there, it was nothing less then an all-out, R rated, no-holds barred free-for-all. It was all covered by a huge dust cloud, but even so the punches were heard just as easily. By the looks of it, by seeing the fight when-ever the dust cloud cleared up slightly every few split seconds, it seemed a bunch of fuzzies had teamed up on Zane, for reasons beyond him. They probably thought they would have stood a better chance as a team, but, by how it looked, Zane wasn't going down without a fight... And he was putting up one heck of a fight! A few fuzzies every few minutes or so, would end up flying over the horizen when Zane gave them one well-placed punch. It was apparent that the fuzzies were losing the struggle, so Mario's worry lowered slightly.

Goombario, who still seemed unsure about the fight in front of him, looked to Mario. "You think he needs backup?"

Zane's upper torso appeared from the dust cloud. "Nah! Don't you guys worry! I can handle this myself!! You just help the villagers anyway you can, and..." The next few words were unheard as Zane was pulled back into the fight.

Mario shook his head. "I think we can believe him..." At that word, five more fuzzies were sent flying back into the forest that was positioned behind Koopa Village, shouting the 'MEORK' version of the classic 'Goofy Scream' as they flew. "Yep, he's-a got everything under-a control."

Having said that, Mario went off to help the villagers get their shells back. Even though the fuzzies saw Zane as a threat for some reason or another, they weren't stupid enough to just drop the shells they had swiped in easy to reach places. Some of the shells were hidden in trees, while others were placed on floating wooden blocks, generally they were too hard to reach for a normal citizen. Mario had to hammer the tree's trunks, jump up to hit the floating wooden blocks, and pretty much some other things that Mario could've only done. Once he brought the shells back to their owners, he went once again to the fight between Zane and the army of fuzzies. Another well-placed punch was heard, and several more fuzzies were sent spiraling towards the forest. They must've been the last one's because things in the dust cloud calmed down. It finally went down to reveal Zane, somewhat battered, but otherwise fine. Goombario was the first to ask. "Um, you okay Zane?"

Zane stood up straighter and smiled warily. "Are you kidding? They never stood a chance! Sure, they were all over me, but I showed them in the end, didn't I?" He pointed his thumb at himself. "Too easy!"

Mario reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a blue mushroom with white spots. That was a Super Shroom item, a pretty effective food in the Mushroom Kingdom. "Here. Have some of this, Zane. It'll help out some of your energy." Zane nodded, calmly took the Super Shroom, then took a big bite of it. The Super Shroom helped his energy a good deal.

Mario looked around to notice that the villagers were still on pins and needles, as if expecting fuzzies to jump out from the nearest bushes. This calm was suddenly interrupted when a nearby house suddenly rocked back and forth as though someone was having one heck of a fight. There were voices coming from the house as well. "HEY, GIVE BACK MY SHELL!!!" It suddenly became apparent that they had one more fuzzy to deal with.

Mario motioned for Zane and Goombario. As he said the next statement, he lifted up his hammer. "Come on guys... One more fuzzy to deal with. Then we can move on to Koopa Bros Fortress." Zane and Goombario nodded, got into a battle position and approached the house. Mario, NOT using his hammer, knocked on the door.

The young voice from earlier was the one to respond. "OH, SHOOT! Okay be right there!!" The one that owned the voice opened the door, revealing a koopa with red wristbands and a red bandana, some blue boots, a couple of bandages on his cheek, and his shell, like oh so many other koopa's today, was missing, showing a white undershirt. "I'm so sorry about this! A stupid little fuzzy got into my..." He suddenly froze and looked at Mario a little more closely. After a second or so, he started to have a little panic attack. "OH MY GOSH!!! It's MARIO!!! This is fantastic!"

Zane almost expected Mario to blush from the sudden attention. He didn't, which was quite surprising really. He just waved a hand letting the koopa know he was thankful for the welcome. The koopa grabbed Mario's hand and began shaking it rapidly. "Hello Mario sir! I'm Kooper and may I say I'm very honored to meet you!"

Mario finally answered back, after a second. "It's a pleasure to meet you too Kooper."

Zane stepped forward, once Kooper seperated from Mario. "You say there's a fuzzy in there? And that he took your shell?"

Kooper nodded. "Yeah, I've been trying to get my hands on him, but he's too slippery a character!" He turned to Mario. "Do you think you can help me get my shell back Mario? I can't catch that miserable character myelf! Please, I'm begging you!" He said bowing slightly.

Goombario stepped forward and offered his words. "Not to worry! We'll help you! We were pretty much helping the whole village anyway."

Mario nodded, "Yes indeed! We'll-a get that shell back!"

Kooper whooped and cheered. "Oh, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU MARIO!!! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS TO ME!!!"

Zane approached the door to Kooper's home, and turned the door knob. "Come on guys..." Zane said, as an evil smirk crossed his face. "I think I have enough energy for one more of those over-energized Fur-balls..." Mario and Zane nodded with a mischeivous air.

Zane slammed the door open... The living room inside was a complete mess from Kooper's struggle to get his shell back from the crazed fuzz-ball. Standing in the center of the destruction was the fuzzy... Zane almost went bug-eyed when he saw that the shell was a light naval blue. he looked back out at the front door and thought, _'Could that Kooper character be that blue shelled koopa Merlon was talking about?'_ He couldn't think this through much morem when the fuzzy that was holding the naval blue shell saw them. His eyes landed on the heroes, but stopped on Zane. When he saw the toad, it's eyes bugged out fearfully.

"MEEE-OOOOOOOORK!!!!!" The Fuzzy shouted, hopped up two times, and hopped out the open backdoor.

Mario took out his hammer and pointed it outward heroically. "Come on!! After him!!!" Everyone shouted "Right!" and ran after the Fuzzy like crazy.

* * *

The Forest behind the village wasn't exactly a sight to see. A lot of the trees at the beginning of the path were cut down due to the work of Koopa Loggers. After a second... "MEEEEE-OOOOOOOOORK!!!!!!" The Fuzzy holding Koopers shell was bouncing at top speed to the deeper part of the forests. Suddenly, Mario launched forward, reeled back his hammer and tried to slam it into the retreating fuzzy. However the fuzzy jumped to the side, effectively dodging the attack. The fuzzy looked fearfully, and continued to bounce away. Zane was dashing like a ninja, at high speeds and was soon right at the fuzzy's side. He launched a bunch of punches to the side. The Fuzzy was barely able to dodge the attacks. Zane, since he wasn't looking where he was going, tripped over a tree stump and went sliding on the ground, creating a long crater. The fuzzy continued to bounce away going deeper into the forest.

Zane plucked his head out of the dirt, looking especially ticked off. "Oh... Its ON now..."

He got back on his feet and chased after the fuzzy, Mario and Goombario close behind. After a few minutes of running to keep up with the Fuzzy, the heroes reached a clearing deep into the woods. The clearing was a plain one, with trees as far as the eye could see, and a large opening in the canopy above them. The fuzzy's bouncing slowed down and it hopped into the branches of a high up tree. Zane ran under it, looking up. "Me-ork, MEE-OOORK!!" The fuzzy mocked.

Zane's face turned red from fury. "GET DOWN HERE!!!!! I STILL NEED TO BREAK EVERY BONE IN YOUR BODY AND PULL OUT ALL THE FUR IN YOUR HIDE!!!!!!!!"

Goombario was somewhat sickened by the notion, but shook it off quickly. He called up to the branch as well. "HEY PAL!!! We need that shell back!!! It doesn't belong to you!!!!!"

It was quiet for a few seconds... Suddenly, lowering down via a spider-like web, the fuzzy lowered down until it was in plain sight, but still out of reach. It talked after a second. "MEEOORK!!! Do you think care kiddo!?" He said waving Kooper's shell tauntingly above the heroes head. Goombario tried to make a jump for it, but the Fuzzy pulled it out of reach with invisible hands. "Nuh, uh, uh, Goomba Twoip."

* * *

_**("I'm making it to where the fuzzy talks like Team Rockets Meowth from the Pokemon Anime. Just so you'll know.")

* * *

**_

Zane growled furiously, and rolled up his sleeves. Mario tried his hand with the Fuzzy. "You give that-a shell back, or else-a, we'll beat you to a pulp!!"

The fuzzy pretended to think this over, then he stuck out his tounge and blew a raspberry. "Sorry Heroes! No can do!" He eyed the group mischeivously. However, he looked back down at them. "Actually..." This caught the heroes attention. "Maybe, I will give back the shell... So long, as you heroes play a little game with me and my boys." At that, some more fuzzies appear, lowering down from tree's by using web like thread.

Zane, not amused or intimidated by this, took a bold step forward. "And what kind of game is that, if I may ask?!?"

The lead fuzzy smirked. "It's a simple game of Hide and Seek... Now, I'm going to hide in one of these four trees, you see before you. All you need to do is choose which one of these trees you think I landed in. You each have to take turns choosing, choose correctly three times and MAYBE I'll give you the shell back."

Mario pulled out his hammer and prepared himself. "Okay then, We accept your challenge!"

All of the fuzzies retreated into the high up branches of the tree's. "Okay Small Fry, your up first!" Goombario walked up to the tree's. "MEEOORK!!! Guess where I'm hiding!"

Goombario looked above the branches to see that a few fuzzies jumped a few feet up out of the branches and jumped into random branches. After a few hops, Goombario looked at the different trees. He easily chose one of the trees and used a headbut move on it. The tree rattled and Koopers shell, hanging on a thin web-like thread, lowered from the branch. The Fuzzy followed looking surprised. "Hm! Too easy!" Goombario said smugly.

The fuzzy stared at him angrily. "Humph!! Not bad, punk! But I'm just getting warmed up!" The Fuzzy said pulling itself and the shell back into the tree branch above them. "Okay, Mushroom Boy! Your up!!" Zane walked up, cracking his knuckles. "MEEOORK!! Guess where I'm hiding!" The Fuzzies hopped up again, only not so high up. Zane kept a careful eye on the fuzzy holding Koopers shell, until the final hop. Zane quickly approached the tree that held the leader fuzzy and preped to smash his foot against the stump. The leader fuzzy, seeing this, quickly hopped into the tree next to it. Seeing this coming, however, Zane quickly switched his target, and smashed his foot into the tree that the leader fuzzy was in. Mario and Goombario were about to argue about this before Koopers shell, still attatched to a thin string-like web lowered from the tree. The lead fuzzy followed suit.

Goombario finally understood what happened. "Hey! I saw where you landed exactly! But your in that tree?! You cheated!!"

The fuzzy looked down at the goomba and smirked. "Hey, I said we were playing a game, I didn't say there were any rules!"

Zane smirked himself, "Well I guess that gives us every reason... TO PLAY DIRTY!!!" Zane quickly kicked the tree again, rattling the lead Fuzzy around.

The Fuzzy shot Zane a dirty look. "HEY!!! That move broke the rules!"

Zane retorted with. "Thought there weren't any rules to break."

Fuzzy blushed angrily. "Okay how about this!? No-holds barred, final round! Mr. Mustachio will go last..." He turned to Mario. "Don't expect a fair game..."

"I don't-a plan to." Mario retorted pulling out his hammer.

The lead fuzzy pulled back into the tree, shell in tow, and the final round started. "MEEOORK!!! Guess where I'm hiding!" The fuzzy's didn't even jump straight upward to indicate where they were, which was okay since Mario had his eyes directed straight at the lead fuzzy. After a few hops, the rustling in the tree branches settled down. Mario quickly ran up to the tree that his companions figured contained the fuzzy holding Koops shell. In a flash, that fuzzy quickly jumped to the next tree, Mario followed just as quickly. Soon enough, the game had turned into more of a game of Tag since the fuzzy was hopping into the nearest tree available before Mario could have a chance to hit the tree. Mario, however, was keeping up quite easily, showing up at each and every one of the trees the fuzzy jumped in. Zane, now getting bored, yawned slightly at this.

"Okay do you have any clue when this game will end, maybe even an estimate?" Zane asked Goombario.

Goombario examined the game. "Well Mario definately has an edge here... He's much more used to this much physical exertion... The fuzzy however, is a different story. True, its exercised as often as Mario could've, but it's body is smaller and much more vulnerable then Mario's, however, it's more energetic then most creatures. So I'd say, eventually, Mario will win, because the fuzzy will need to slip up eventually."

After a few more minutes, Goombario's words proved true. The fuzzy starting to get cocky about winning, landed on a branch on a new tree... It immediately snapped under his weight. "Meork!?!?" It couldn't say another word, before Mario smashed his hammer into the fuzzy and sent it flying. As it was going, Zane and Goombario cut in front of the fuzzy. It flew past them... Zane and Goombario was holding the Koopers shell, while the fuzzy was stuck with zip-a-dee-do-da. It smashed into a tree so hard it almost toppled. the fuzzy slowly slid down the tree and landed face-first on the ground.

Zane blew the crazy fur-ball a raspberry. "Nice try, tough guy! Your no match for Mario and friends!"

The fuzzy slowly got back up, and cast a dirty look at the heroes. "FINE!!! Take the stupid shell!!! Not like I wanted it, anyways!!!" A string of thread-like web lowered from the tree. The fuzzy grabbed it.

Zane stomped forward, sending a shock wave through the ground, making the poor fuzzy lift off the ground a few feet. "And if we ever get a call that your causing trouble in this town again... Then I'll personally make sure your hurtin' for a GOOOOOOOOOOD LOOOOOOOOOONG TIME!!"

The fuzzy shuddered at this and all at once lifted off the ground. "Fine! Me and my boys will leave the town alone!!! ... ... ... ... MAYBE..." And with that he disappeared into the tree's branches.

Zane caught that hint easily, he smirked as he pounded his right fist against his open left hand. "He's going to cause trouble again, I know it... And I'll be ready to put that 'stuffed animal reject' in his place." Goombario and Mario rolled their eyes in annoyance, but smiled at his enthusiasm regardless.

Goombario walked up and smiled in triumph. "Well we got the shell back, lets give it back to that Kooper guy."

Zane nodded, took the shell and was about to slip it in his backpack... "Hey! GUYS!!!" Zane stopped upon hearing that voice. He looked up to see Kooper running up to the group, an angry look on his face.

Mario went first, curious. "Whats wrong Kooper?"

Kooper spoke up with a bold voice. "Well it's just you guys really inspired me today. And I figured that if I don't get my own shell back, I'll NEVER live this down!" He took a bold step forward, and pumped his fist in the air. "So I'm gonna go in, give those-those PUNKS, a piece of my mind and get my shell back!!"

Mario stopped him before he could go. "There's no-a need to go-a berserk on those fuzzies!"

Goombario stepped forward as well. "Yeah we already got the shell back."

Zane walked forward, presenting the azure blue shell to Kooper. "Here, it wasn't easy, but we got it back..." He looked over the shell. "This is your shell, isn't it?"

Kooper stared at it for a second, and started to celebrate. "YEAH, IT IS!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!" He took the shell and slipped it on. It fit the koopa quite snugly. He celebrated again. "Really thank you so much! You really helped me out of a jam!.." He stared at the heroes thoughtfully. "If only there was a way to repay you guys.

Mario looked flustered at that. "You really don't-a have to! We were just-a helping the-a town with the-a fuzzy problem anyway-a."

Goombario agreed with Mario. "Yeah, you don't need to repay us." Zane pretty much remained silent.

Kooper began to pace around, "But, I still feel like I need to repay you somehow... I feel like it's only right." He stopped pacing after a second. "Wait that's it!" He turned to the others, smiling slightly. "Mario, have you heard of a koopa named Kolorado?"

Mario started to think about that, as did Zane. Goombario, however, knew exactly who Kolorado was. "Kolorado is a world-renowned koopa archeologist. He was the one who discovered the sand covered ruins in Sarassaland, among many other ruins around the world."

"That's right!" Kooper said excitedly. "Anyways, he's always been my hero ever since I was an egg! All my life, I've always wanted to travel the world and discover things other people had never seen before!" Kooper grinned slightly. "So... How about I go with you?" Mario and the others gawked at this. "You really can't fool me. After all, news travels fast, even out here. And seeing Mario with a group that's battle ready is something of a give away."

Mario, remembering Merlon's vision, put the icing on the cake of this chat. "Hmm... Are you-a sure want to-a do this? You do-a realize this could be-a dangerous. Do you-a have anything to-a contribute to the-a team?" Zane and Goombario looked like they were going to argue about this, but he stopped them. "Just give him a chance, you guys-a."

Kooper considered this, then after a moment he answered. "Well, I'm pretty good with fancy shell moves, and I'm a pretty good fighter too."

Zane pointed at Kooper, unbelievingly. "I hope you don't think me as rude, but good fighter? I'm afraid I'll need some proof of that."

"**MEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

Everyone jumped, then looked to see the leader fuzzy bouncing up and down a big, evil grin on his face. "MEEEOOORK!! I changed my mind!!! And now for sweet payback!!!"

Zane smirked and cracked his knuckles and made a 'bring it on' hand sign. "Bring it on, you vim suckin' freak!!"

The Fuzzy looked enraged at this. "THAT'S IT!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... GET HIM BOYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Zane only had time to look surprised, before a group of at least ten fuzzies tackled him to the ground. More fuzzies appeared and got ready to attack the others.

Kooper looked surprised for a quick second, then put on his game face. "Okay... one-two-three-four-five... So there's ten of you, and three of us..." He took a step forward, and grinned. "I think its about time I got some payback against you guys from my home town." He suddenly pulled into his shell, and the shell shot forward hitting a whole row of fuzzies like bowling pins. The 'Hit bowling pins' sound effect is heard as Kooper hits them.

Zane immediately punched the group of fuzzies off of him, and joined in the fuzzy elimination. Mario and Goombario joined in the fight as well.

* * *

_**("Fight Time!!! Time to put these rodents in their place!!! ... Whoops sorry! Anyways, the 'Super Mario RPG miniboss music' plays in the background.")

* * *

**_

Kooper was zooming around the area slamming the fuzzies into next week with his shell. Zane stood in place as a miniature army of fuzzies approached him. "Okay, one hundred and fifty, to one..." He smirked. "I like those odds." The fuzzies jumped him at the same time. Zane dodged one fuzzy, grabed another and hurled it to a whole group of fuzzies in front of him. He threw a punch, it connected, and the fuzzy's jaw popped out of place. He then placed a powerul 'Triple Kick' knocking down three fuzzies. He quickly followed this up with punches and kicks that would make Bruce Lee envious. The Fuzzies completely surrounded Zane, and jumped. They didn't get to far before Zane smirked and suddenly shouted, "TATSUMAKI SEMPU KYAKU!!!" No sooner did he say that, that Zane jumped forward, throwing a foot outward and spinning like the wheel in the 'Wheel of Fortune' game show. Any nearby fuzzies were sent flying deep into the forest by the kick. He landed on the ground, looked around, and smirked upon seeing the fuzzies on the ground, out colder then a wet mackeral. "Hmph! Pests."

* * *

_**("The 'Tatsumaki Sempu Kyaku' or Spin Kick attack, was a move used by main characters Ryu and Ken in the video game and cartoon series 'Street Fighters.' The move is copyrighted")

* * *

**_

Mario was zooming around, probably as fast as Kooper, slamming his hammer left and right. It didn't matter where he swung that hammer of his, it always hit a fuzzy and sent it flying. Mario stopped and saw more on their way. He continued swinging his hammer, slamming the fuzzies away like he was in front of a pitching machine. He suddenly put the hammer away, and started throwing punches that sent some Fuzzies spiraling away. When the attack let up a little, he quickly slipped on a pair of gloves and threw a punch... The size of his fist suddenly grew to RIDICULOUS size and sent several fuzzies at a time flying. He did this again sending the fuzzies flying over the horizon with each hit. As soon as he was finished, and the fuzzies bothering everyone else, cept' him, he took off the gloves and looked at his handiwork. "Never mess-a with Mario!"

* * *

_**("For those of you who has not played 'Super Mario RPG', Mario had just used his 'Magic Gloves' weapon, which makes his fist grow to ridiculous size with each punch. That's copyrighted by Square Enix and Nintendo.")

* * *

**_

Goombario was easily fighting back with headbutts, and headbonks. Kooper flew by him the most and prevent the goomba from being overwhelmed. After a bit of fighting, the fuzzies began to retreat. They were all 'Meork'-ing fearfully, and bouncing as fast as they could from the heroes. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WE'RE LOSING!?!?!?!?!?!? THEIR JUST A BUNCH OF PEST'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He turned back... And ran right into the front of a koopa shell. He slowly looked up to see Kooper with a pissed off face. He was then joined by Zane, who was smirking devilishly and cracking his knuckles.

"Look in a mirror, you'll see another one soon." Zane said with a grin.

The fuzzy took that in for a second, smiled nervously, and ran off. "MEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOORRRK!!!!! WE'LL BE GOOD!!!! WE'LL BE GOOD!!!!!"

Zane quickly whispered in Kooper's ear, the koopa smirked, liking the idea. He withdrew into his shell and spun in place, Zane grabbed the shell, reeled backwards and threw Kooper like a frisbee. The shell traveled a ways, and conked the poor fuzzy on the head, knocking him out. Kooper returned to the heroes side like a boomerang. The koopa shouted at the retreating fuzzies. "Cause any more trouble, and I'll be sure to REALLY HURT YA, next time!!!" He wiped the dust off his shell after that.

* * *

**_("Okay the 'Super Mario RPG Mini-boss music stops and is replaced by the Paper Mario the Thousand Year Door victory tune.")

* * *

Zane stared at Kooper with a look of amazement. "Not bad! Not bad at all, I must say!"_**

Kooper blushed slightly, "Hey, I've exercised plenty in my life, and that was no different from the koopa acrobatics class I take."

Mario nodded a little. "Well you've-a certainly proven yourself-a. Any objections to-a Kooper joining?"

Goombario shook his head. "He's a pretty good fighter, I wouldn't mind him joining."

Zane did the same. "Eh, no complaints here."

Mario nodded and slapped Kooper on the back. "Well its-a unanimous! Welcome to the-a team, Kooper!"

Everyone gave Kooper a pat on the back, and a 'thank you' for the help. The group returned to the village and found that the village was back to it's normally peaceful nature. The Koopas were lazilly walking around town, but still kept their eyes peeled for any fuzzies. Zane and the others took a good look at the town as they walked out and back onto Pleasent Path.

Kooper and the others chatted as they walked. "So anyways, I take the switch out and show it to him, and before he could do anything I press it! The guy was sent flying farther then any bird I'd ever seen!" Zane said, telling the story of their earlier fight with the Goomba King.

Kooper chuckled at that story. "Man, and I thought those Charging Chucks on Dinosaur Land were tough! You guys flat out whooped that Goomba King!" He looked up to the sky thoughtfully. "I just hope the Princess is okay, since she's been kidnapped..."

Goombario stepped forward. "Not to worry, she sent a message to us saying that she was okay."

Kooper nodded, smiling slightly. "Yep that's definately the Princess. She doesn't give up for nothing."

Mario walked up to and offered his two cents. "Yeah, she is-a pretty brave..." He looked forward and stopped dead in his tracks. "Guys... look!"

Everyone looked forward. In the distance was a huge fortress that must've been at least four stories tall. It looked as if it had been painted recently with what looked like spray paint. In a gangster-like fashion, the words 'Koopa Bros Fortress' was plastered on the front. It was surrounded by a creek, with a small land bridge that lead to the front door. It didn't take a genius to know that this was Koopa Bros Fortress. What surprised Mario, however, was the guards that were on the path ahead. They consisted of Koopas wearing Sunglasses (A sign that they worked for Bowser.); from the land walking Koopa Troopa's, to the flying Para-Troopa.

* * *

_**("The reason for the spray paint designs is because I always thought that the Koopa Bros Fortress needed an extra touch for their fortress. The spray paint designs always seemed to fit the fortress to me.")

* * *

**_

Zane smirked and cracked his knuckles, Mario pulled out his hammer, and Goombario and Kooper became battle ready. "I think we have company." Mario finished.

Goombario stepped up first. "How about we give them a lesson in butt whoopin?"

Instead of answering, Zane ran forward and jump-kicked the nearest koopa troopa. This alerted the other koopa grunts, whom charged at the heroes. Mario jumped up to a Para-Troopa and punched it back to earth. Goombario used headbonk, and brought another one down. Kooper proceeded to attack all of the land-bound koopa's with his 'Power Shell' move.

This was going to be a long day...

From the shadows of a nearby bush, a familiar pair of eyes watched the showdown. "He is powerful... Maybe there is something to him..." Meriee said. She had witnessed the events of today, from the heroes beating up the fuzzies, and now here in front of Koopa Bros Fortress, how they were beating the ever-loving daylights out of these guards.

* * *

(Now it shows the inside of a shack where Wally and I are waiting out the blizzard outside.)

Me: Well everyone, after a long time waiting, here it is! I broke a record with how long this chapter is, I must say! Don't expect chapters this long to much.

Wally: (Comes up on stage and gives me some hot chocolate.) Here Gantz, to warm up a little.

Me: Thanks Wally. (Turns back to screen.) Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Cause I certainly did! (Gives a peace sign.) R&R people!

Wally: Until next update, mates!


	11. Villians in a Half Shell

(I'm in NUTCASE's Authors booth. A few other unrecognizable people are anxiously waiting in the background to be introduced.)

Me: Hello everyone. I know it's been awhile since my last update, but after a long time coming here it is! (Hears someone clear his throat behind him.) Oh right. Everyone I want to introduce you to my good friends who were kind enough to let me stay at their place while my Authors Booth was being repaired. (Clears throat.) Introducing... NUTCASE71733! (A young man around twenty years old, wearing a straight Jacket and a pair of eye-glasses with swirly lenses steps up.)

NUTCASE: Heya Pasianos!

Me: And of course, his friends... From the famous cult T.V. Show that played in the TV's of yesteryear, I give you!.. TOM SERVO and CROW T. ROBOT, from Mystery Science Theater 3000!!!

(The TV shows theme song, without lyrics, plays as Crow and Servo walk up on the stage.)

Crow: HELLO FANFICTION!!!

Servo: YEAH, THE ROBOTS ARE IN THE HOUSE!!!

Me: And of course, NUTCASE's gang isn't complete without these last two characters. First off, the magician who is the son of royalty, and the heir to the Nimbus Land Throne... PRINCE MALLOW NIMBUS!!! (Mallow walks on stage. He looks as if he's suffering from stage fright, as the poor guy is shaking faster then a massage chair.) And of course, you know him, you love him, you can't live without him! The very star of this fanfiction! ZANE T. !!! (Zane walks out, and waves enthusiastically.)

NUTCASE: So, do tell Gantz! What's going to happen on this chapter?

Me: Well NUTCASE, my friend, on this chapter the heroes walk through Koopa Bros Fortress, and once they get to the walkway to the Bros Room where they fight the Bill Blasters and Bullet Bills, a new challenge is thrown at them. You'll see some references to 'Super Mario Bros Z' my all around favorite sprite series by Alvin the Earthworm, which will hint that I will be using SMBZ style fighting for the next big fight.

MMSB: YOU'RE JOKING!!!

Me: Nope, and it's here right now! So enjoy the show! ON WITH THE STORY!!!

* * *

Chapter .10.

'Villains in a half shell'

* * *

It shows the ground for a second, a punch is heard, and a koopa hits it hard. The view broadens to show that the koopa's sunglasses were broken, he had a black eye, a cut lip, and various other injuries. Before he could get back up, Zane appeared next to him, "GET LOST, YOU PUNK!!" He then kicked the koopa making him fly right into the river nearby. He helplessly floated along with the current, as he shouted various obscenities 

A ParaTroopa was sent flying over the horizen, sailing over Zane's head. The Reason? Mario had just hammered him away like a baseball bat hits a baseball out of the park. Kooper was zooming around the area, bouincing off of koopas like pinball bumpers. Goombario was headbonking koopa's onto their shells and sending them flying off.

After a minute or so, all of the koopas were either unconscious on the ground, or had been sent flying over the horizon. The heroes regrouped. "Hmm... Not bad for an beginning exercise. But lets give those Koopa Bros more butt kicking then what we shown. Give em' 110 percent!" Zane encouraged, everyone nodded yes in enthusiasm.

The heroes, after walking around the battle field approached the door that lead inside the Koopa Bros Fortress. They stopped short however, when the door opened, and out walked Black ninjakoopa. "Yo! What's going on out here!? Me and my brothers, were trying to think of our greatest new sce-..." He stopped dead when he saw Mario and friends standing right in front of him. He panicked. "WHOA SHOOT!!!! Your here already?!?" He turned back inside the fortress. "Guys!!!! We got company!!!" He shouted running back inside the fortress, closing the door behind him.

Mario went up to the door and opened it... Inside was a room so huge it couldn't be believed. The entrance from the outside was right underneath a 6 or 7 story tower. The room was at least that tall, with a ramp over-hanging somewhere on the 5th story, there was no staircase that would've lead to that ramp. The ground level, was very big around, but there wasn't that much floor. Taking up, at least, 75 percent of the room was a big water-filled pool, where two koopa shells were floating without a care in the world on the surface. Goombario could've sworn he saw something gigantic and brick-looking deep in the pool, but put it off, thinking he was imagining things. The floor was a somewhat skinny pathway, with a fence on the side where the pool was. The heroes walked on and saw the end of the room. With a slam, Black Ninjakoopa disappeared behind another door where a single koopa was standing guard. It had a huge lock on it, and the koopa appeared to be holding the key in his hands.

"Heh, their making this way too easy..." Goombario said walking up to the koopa. "Hey tough guy! Over here!!" The Koopa turned to the goomba, who, at this time, was blowing a raspberry at him.

The koopa guard, who was offended at this, retracted into his shell and shot at Goombario. Before he could do any damage however, Kooper quickly shot in front of the koopa, rammed him, and the soldier went off course. He bounced around aimlessly and, while doing as such, zoomed past Zane who grabbed his key as he flew by. The koopa suddenly stopped in mid-air and fell... Right into the big indoor lake. The back of his shell hit first, and he started floating around the lake. He was trapped.

The Koopa started yelling at the group as he tried, unsuccessfully, to paddle to the waters edge and climb out. Zane held up the key and smiled triumphantly. "Some people are so easy to beat, it's almost sad." He said as Mario took the key and fit it into the gigantic lock.

The group found themselves in a big room with what looked like a giant staircase hovering overhead at the left side of the room. The room itself wasn't that big, and there was a door at the other end. What was guarding the door was what the problem was. It was a what looked like a black bomb with a small fuse, feet on the bottom, and what looked like a small wind-up key in it's back. It was a Bob-omb.

The Bob-omb caught sight of the group and rushed at them. Mario groaned, "I-a always hated those-a things..."

The Bob-omb pounded Mario before he could get his hammer out. Zane countered with a tough blow to the bob-omb's face. It was sent flying aways and landed on the floor. The bob-omb suddenly took on a very pissed off look and it's fuse lit, not to mention the bob-ombs entire being became red with anger. Goombario looked frightened at that. "He's gonna blow!!!"

Kooper saw this and quickly shot out at the bob-omb. It blew up upon making contact, but Kooper went unharmed since he was inside his shell. When Kooper returned to the groups side, he looked back to see that the bob-omb, after going off was unconscious on the ground. "We'll have to keep in mind to attack from a distance when those guys are about to go off." Zane said off-handedly, numbly pointing to the bob-omb. The group walked past the unconscious bob-omb and passed through the door on the other side. Mario looked to the left to see what looked like a small ledge that stood at the foot of a huge crack in the wall. The plumber made a quick note of that and went on with the others.

The next room was filled completely with prison cells. The cells reached about halfway up the wall, and seemed to form ledges. On top of two of the prison cells were, what looked-like, red switches. In front of the very first cell in the room was Green Ninjakoopa. He had placed a key inside the cell, and walked out. "Okay dude! close the cell!" He said. Following his order, a nearby koopa closed the cell and locked it, leaving the key inside. Green laughed at this. "Heh, heh, lets see the great Super Mario and those miserable friends of his get any further in the dungeon now!"

Someone cleared his throat behind him. Green turned to see Mario and 'said Miserable friends' right at the door. He balked upon seeing them. "Aw DUDE!! I'M OUTTA HERE!!!" He said running off. He yelled to the heroes as he ran, "Lets see you get further inside our digs now, dude!!"

The koopa, who had closed the cell, saw who it was as well. He turned to where Green Ninjakoopa ran off. "WAIT, BOSS!!! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE WITH THESE MANIACS!!!" He shouted as he ran right after him, taking the key to the cell with him.

Zane looked inside the cell. "Darnit... They took the key with them. And we might need the key inside the cell later!" Mario, after successfully warding off another koopa troopa, turned to the others.

"We-a might as-a well forget it... We're not going to get our hands on it right now." Everyone turned to Mario and nodded.

So the heroes continued through the cell filled room. Upon going through the door on the other side they found that the next door was locked in the same matter the last one was. However, there was a small red switch that seemed to be sitting by a section of the wall. Zane and Goombario circled this wall and found that it wasn't a wall at all... It was a _staircase_, hanging by some chains. Mario and Kooper stayed by the switch waiting for what the others had to say. "This section of the wall is a staricase!" Goombario's voice was heard.

Zane's voice came soon after. "It doesn't lead to anywhere... Maybe..." he thought for a second. Mario heard him yell after a few seconds. "Hey Mario!! Try pressing that switch!!!" Mario did as requested and slammed the switch with his hammer...

The hanging staircase suddenly rattled. Before anyone knew what was happening, the staircase lowered down, revealing a whole new room below. Zane and Goombario quickly jumped onto the descending staircase, so they could see the level below. Meanwhile Mario and Kooper stayed as the Staircase's highest step came down lower. The highest step perfectly aligned itself with the floor in front of Mario and became a staircase to the lower level. Mario and Kooper walked down the stair case and found Zane and Goombario, whom were examing this lower level. The room had two different doorways, both unlocked, thus making two different directions. "Okay... The way I see it..." Zane said wrapping up his examination. He turned to his fellow team memers. "We should probably split up so we can explore both passageways. The teams need to be evenly seperated. So Goombario's with me." Goombario gave Zane a confused look. "You're pretty good at jumping Goombario. Mario is too. So Mario will be accompanied by Kooper. That way we can fight effectively."

Everyone nodded at that. "Okay... Kooper and I will-a go that-a way." Mario said pointing to the way that was effectively underneath the room filled with Jail cells. "Zane, you and-a Goombario, will-a go that-a way." Mario then pointed at the door opposite of where he was going.

Zane saluted and ran off through the doorway, Goombario close behind him. Mario then motioned for Kooper to follow him, and he gladly obliged as they ran through the other door.

* * *

(With Zane and Goombario.) 

Zane and Goombario ran through the doorway and found themselves in a very big room. A giant jail cell that was made completely of brick, save for an entrance way and a small area around it, took up most of the room, and the cieling seemed about 10 stories up. Goombario, after noticing how high up the ceiling was, whistled in an impressed tone. "Now this place was pretty well made! I'm guessing we're standing in the basement level of one of the castle's spires."

Zane, however, was not impressed. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." He scanned the room and walked up to the cell. He looked inside to see a bunch of Bob-ombs inside. "Hey Goombario! Over here!" Goombario ran over to the cell and looked inside himself.

The bob-ombs looked peaceful enough, and definately had that kind of captive vibe. "Hmm...Maybe these bob-omb's came from Koopa Village. Kooper said that some bob-ombs lived there too." Goombario remarked.

Zane walked over to what looked like the door to the cell and tried giving a tug. It was locked. He slammed his fist against the cell door muttering. "DAMMIT!! It won't open!!"

"Who are you?" Zane jumped at that. The racket had not went unnoticed. A bob-omb had walked up to the door to see what was going on. "Are you here by the Koopa Bros orders?"

"Are you kidding?! We can't stand those 'surfer dude' koopa's!" He furthered his insult by pretending he was riding on a surfboard, looking about as idiotic as he could, before stopping and spitting on the ground. "We'd rather send them flying, then serve them!"

The bob-omb became happy at this. He was male and the typical black color. "Oh, that's great!! Then you came to free us!"

Goombario examined the lock. "I wish we could..." Goombario turned to the entrance... He gawked when he saw that the first bob-omb was suddenly joined by maybe 20 others!

"Outta-my-way, Outta-my-way, MOVE!!!" A few bob-ombs were pushed aside, allowing another bob-omb to get in front. This bob-omb was different from the others. It was female, (Zane and Goombario could tell by the voice, albeit barely since she sounded like a tomboy.) and was light pink in color. Her fuse almost looked like a yellow pony-tail, and her wind up key resembled a ribbon almost. "So you came to free us?" Zane and Goombario nodded a little. The female bob-omb's face brightened. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" The female bob-omb shouted, and the others cheered as well. She suddenly took a serious look. "Okay seriously. Can you open this cell and let us out? Being in a confined space for too long is not good for a person, let-me-tell-you..."

Goombario blushed embarrased. "Well miss... I'm afraid we can't do that... You see we don't have the key to this cell."

The female bob-omb stared at their so-called saviors with a look of exasperation... Before, screaming at the top of her lungs in frustration, charging at, from Zane and Goombario's perspective, a random wall, and blowing up the second she hit it. The kaboom caused the floor to quake making Zane and Goombario lose their balance and fall to the floor. The female bob-omb came back after a few seconds, blushing profoundly. "Oh I'm such an idiot! I hope you can forgive me! It's just that I've been trapped in here for so long, that I just let my temper get the better of me sometimes." Zane and Goombario slowly got back to their feet and dusted themselves off. "Anyways, hello, my name is Bombette! And who are you guys?"

Zane smiled a little. "I'm Zane. And this is my friend Goombario."

Bombette nodded a little at their introductions. "Nice to meet you guys!"

Goombario nodded a little himself. "Pleasure's all ours!"

Bombette sat down in front of the cell door. It was silent for a second. "Well, I guess we aren't going to be getting out of here then... If you guys don't have the key..."

Zane leaned against the cell door in a laid back fashion. "Whoever said we weren't going to free you?"

Bombette looked back up to Zane, who had put up a cocky grin. "I'm pretty sure the key won't be that hard to find. And once we find it, we'll be sure to set you free." The bob-omb's regained hope at that. "Not only that, but Mario is going to help us do it!"

That ESPECIALLY caught Bombette's attention. "MARIO?!? You mean like the famous 'Super Mario'!?"

Goombario smiled and encouraged the bob-ombs as well. "Yeah, we split up so he could check down another passageway. But he's here in the fortress, make no mistake about that."

The bob-omb's whooped and cheered. This was great! Their freedom was assured after all! Zane smirked at this response. He turned to Goombario. "We better go find Mario and tell him what we found."

"Not gonna happen dudes!!!"

"Huh?" Goombario and Zane said turning to where the voice came from.

**WHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

* * *

(Now with Mario and Kooper.) 

After successfully dispatching some Paratroopas in the room they had entered, Mario and Kooper had moved on through the door opposite from where they had come in. In the room they had entered most of the room was underwater water, save for a narrow walkway that had what looked like a few chain of flames spinning around horizontally and in circles. Mario recognized them as Bowser's usual security system called Fire Bars. The plumber stopped Kooper before he could continue. "What is it Mario?"

Mario pointed at the Fire Bars. "Fire Bars. There's-a only one way to-a beat them." He turned back to Kooper. "You-a good at jump-rope?"

Kooper nodded. "Well, I am pretty good at it, I guess."

Mario nodded. "All you have to-a do is jump over them enough times and they-a eventually go poof."

Kooper understood. "Okay, sounds easy. Anything I need to know?"

Mario thought about that for a second. "Well they-a get faster the more-a times you jump over them. And the-a faster they go the-a closer they are getting to-a disappearing."

Kooper started to get nervous at that. "O-okay..."

Mario jumped over the first Fire Bar to let Kooper deal with it, and went to the second one. Mario easily jumped over the first swing, Kooper did as well. The second jump did not pose as a problem either. It was third jump that started the problem. Mario, being the good jumper he was easily made the jump, Kooper barely managed to jump over it. The fourth and fifth jumps came so fast it was almost unreal. Mario easily made it, while Kooper's tail almost got burned having to make two consecutive jumps in a row. The sixth jump is what ended the Fire Bars. Mario made it easily, while Kooper's tail caught a-fire, upon barely making it. The Fire Bars, with a small smokey 'poof', disappeared. Mario wiped some nonchalant sweat off his forehead. "No sweat!" He then went to work picking up the coins that some how came from the Fire Bars.

Kooper did the same, before a peculiar smell came to his senses. "(Sniff, sniff.) What's that smell? Is something cooking?" He followed the smell until he saw that his tail was on fire. He only stared at it for a second... "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He started running around the narrow walkway shouting as fast as he could. "HOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Mario, seeing this, took ahold of Kooper and as quickly as he could he dropped him into the water, putting out the flame. Kooper sighed with relief, no longer feeling the burning on his tail. "Thanks Mario..."

"No-a problem." Mario said grabbing a small key that was sitting on a pedestal at the end of the walkway. "Well we-a found a key. Let's get-a moving."

After helping Kooper out of the water, Mario started back to the meeting point. Upon arriving, he found himself confused that Zane and Goombario had yet to come back. "Wierd..."

Kooper looked around, also confused. "Where's Zane and Goombario? You'd think they'd be back by now..."

Mario took another step towards the opposite door to go look for the tardy twosome. However he stopped when he heard something beneath his feet. He looked to see that he had stepped on a small piece of paper. He removed his foot, picked it up and took a look. Kooper stepped up to look at the note himself. "What's it say?"

Mario started to read it aloud.

* * *

(The note.) 

Mario.

Me and Goombario are checking into room you sent us into earlier, just to make sure we haven't missed anything. Go ahead and go on without us, we'll catch up.

Zane and Goombario.

* * *

Mario reread the note a few times. Something seemed _off_ about this letter. However, he put the thought aside and pocketed the note. Kooper looked to Mario. "Something wrong?" 

Mario shrugged. "Well, what's to-a say that this-a message is telling a lie?"

Kooper shrugged too. "Heh, good point."

They continued upstairs to where they had seen that locked door earlier... Mario and Kooper failed to notice a shadow from behind the staircase. "DUDE! What idiots!!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the same tower that the bob-omb prison was in, only 1 story up, a ramp could be seen starting around a locked door. One story up the ramp that spiraled up the walls was a balcony that stuck out. Floating above the floor of this balcony was a '?' block. Working on the floor around this block was none other the Yellow Ninjakoopa. He hammered, sawed, filled in cement, and everything in a few fast movements. After a second of fast movements, Yellow Ninjakoopa stopped and flashed a thumbs up for no reason, probably to declare to absolutely no-one that he was done. With what, nobody knows. He walked around the balcony, examing every detail of his work. A few minutes passed and Yellow Ninjakoopa stopped, smiling slightly. "Okay, dude. This is perfect!.. I think..." He mumbled to nobody in particular. He heard a door open a floor below. He looked and gawked upon seeing Mario looking around this new tower-like room. "OH SHOOT!.. Mario's here! Better vamoose!" He said, before running through a nearby door. 

Just as he did, Mario came up to the level with the overhanging balcony, and the mysterious '?' block. Mario upon seeing the block approached it. Kooper, who was right behind him, followed him on to the balcony. Mario looked at this new '?' block questionably. It seemed odd that there would be a block out in plain sight like this, and it was so easy to get to. "Something about-a this just doesn't feel right. It's-a too easy..."

Kooper couldn't help but agree with Mario. "Yeah your right... This does seem a bit... Off..." He looked at the '?' Block and smiled slightly. "But then again, we went through a lot of trouble to get to this room..."

Mario couldn't argue with that. "Aw, good point." He hit the block and hit the floor again. He looked back up expecting an item to appear from the top. He heard a strange sound underneath him... He and Kooper slowly looked down...

The floor had opened up underneath them like a trap door...

Mario's eye's widened; they'd been had...

* * *

The view once again shows the inside of the bob-omb prison. Only this time, it had some new captives. Zane paced around the inside of the cell his anger, fury, and frustration showing quite well on his face since it was all red, and it almost looked like steam was coming out of his ears and nose, like that of a classic cartoon bull. 

And right now he wanted to rip off the head of the matador holding the red cape, namely the Koopa Bros...

"DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THOSE KOOPA BROS ARE MESSING WITH THE WRONG TOAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF THEY THINK FOR ONE SECOND THEY'VE GOT ME TRAPPED IN HERE, AND THAT I CAN'T RIP OFF THERE HEADS, THEY'RE WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH THE SECOND I GET OUT OF HERE, I'M GONNA FIND THOSE MORONIC KOOPA'S AND THEN I'M GOING TO KICK THEIR..!!!!!" This was followed by a long list of curses.

Goombario and Bombette were watching the show, almost fearful at the toads anger. Bombette went first. "Yeesh... And here I thought 'I' had a short temper..."

Goombario looked at the enraged and pacing Zane and nodded a little. "No kidding! He's never been this angry during our first fight with the Goomba King, heck this tantrum makes the one he had during the fuzzy swarm at Koopa Village seem somewhat, um what's the word I'm looking for, inferior."

Zane continued to pace around, making a bob-omb's temper tantrum seem less explosive. Goombario finally gathered his courage and approached Zane. "Zane, maybe you should calm down. Going to pieces like this isn't going to help us."

Zane looked at Goombario as if he was about to explode in his face. Instead, after a few seconds, he started to calm down. "(pant, pant.) Yeah your right... Sorry, kiddo." he smiled a little. "Besides Mario's still out there, all he needs to do is come looking for us, and he can break us out of this stupid cell."

A scream suddenly came to their ears. As a matter of fact, there were two screams. They looked up to see two distinct figures dropping at a fast speed from, what looked like, 3 stories up. One sounded like a normal scream for a young man, while another scream sounded like a high-pitched, Italian scream. **_("Think Mario's scream from Super Mario 64, when he falls down from a high place.")_** After a few seconds of falling, there were two hard crashes, and the figures hit rock bottom.  
After the dust cleared, there was Mario and Kooper, laying in a slump on the ground. Zane, Goombario, Bombette, and the rest of the bob-omb prisoners went slack jawed and bug-eyed at this strange sight... Well at least, the bob-ombs went bug-eyed, they would've been slack-jawed if they had a visible mouth.

"Hah!!! I can't believe you dude's fell for that!!!! Have a nice, hm, let me think, FOREVER in that prison cell!!! HAHAHA!!!" Came Yellow Ninjakoopa's voice from up above.

"Dude, that sounded so lame I swear." Came Green Ninjakoopa's voice right after it.

Mario and Kooper slowly got back up, and dusted themselves off. "Ow... Zane?" Mario said, once his eyes fell on Zane. "What are you doing here?"

Zane only stared at Mario blankly... Before he went right back into 'Temper Tantrum' mode, and went on saying curses, that no-one ever thought could fit in a single sentence. Bombette followed this example, and ran right at a wall blowing up against it repeatedly, screaming bloody murder while doing so. Mario stared blankly at the two, then back at Goombario. "Goombario... How did you and Zane get inside this cell in the first place anyway?"

* * *

From what Goombario explained, Mario learned that he and Zane were attacked from behind by the Koopa Bros, and while they were down the 'TMNT' wannabes then threw them into the cell. Zane was reluctant to admit that he got sneak-attacked by the Koopa Bros, but nothing could hide the fact that he did. The group got to know Bombette a little better too. 

"You see, me and my friends here came from Koopa Village ourselves. However, one day, the Koopa Bros came and kidnapped us. They forced us to dig so they could build their fortress with a fancy basement." Bombette became red with anger for a second. "I got so mad that I, kinda, exploded next to them." Zane chuckled and nearly fell down laughing. After seeing just how big an explosion this girl could manage, imagining her blowing up in the Koopa Bros face was just a priceless thought at the moment. "Anyways this caused the Koopa Bros to freak out and lock all of us inside this stupid prison cell."

Zane growled furiously. "Just like the rest of us..." He looked up to the higher levels of the tower, where he had heard the Yellow and Green Ninjakoopa's voices. "Sorry we couldn't get you and your friends outta here, Bombette." He scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed fashion. "But I guess none of us are getting out of here any time soon..."

This made Bombette feel only slightly better, at the very least she had some new friends now. But still, this being locked up was pissing her off more and more. "Well it's good to have some new friends at least..." She paced to a wall which, Zane noticed, had a large, but skinny crack. "But, still... Being trapped in here is making me SO MAD, I COULD JUST..!!!!!!"

An idea formed in Zane's head. He saw that Bombette was trying desperately to keep her temper from getting the best of her. He quickly, yet slowly, approached Bombette. Once there, he took a seat next to the fuming female bob-omb. "Ya' know..." This caught Bombette's attention. "Sometimes it's not good to hold all that stress in..." Mario, Goombario, and Kooper stared at Zane confused, what was he up to? Zane did his best to hold in a smirk. "Maybe you should let it all out. Trust me it helps all the time."

Bombette thought about it for a second, then nodded. "You know what? Your right! What do I need to do?"

Zane was now doing everything in his power not to smirk. "Okay, first off, you need to take a deep breath." Zane took a deep breath as an example. Bombette did the same. "Don't allow any of those thoughts distract your relaxation." He chuckled silently, time to go in for the kill. "Especially about the Koopa Bros..." That brought Bombette out of her relaxed stance. "Or how they could be thinking of ways to humiliate you and your friends." Bombette was starting to get angry.

Mario, Goombario, and Kooper gawked at what Zane was doing. Was Zane TRYING to make Bombette go off?!?!? "Or how they could be messing around with the Star Spirit they have captive."

Bombette became surprised at that. "They have a STAR SPIRIT CAPTIVE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

Zane smirked behind Bombette's back, "You better believe it... Not that it's ruining your relaxation." judging by Bombette's face, she was 'WAY' beyond consolation at this point. Mario and friends, not to mention the bob-ombs, started to look panicky. Obvious answer to earlier question; yes. "Or how they could be helping Bowser with his plans for the Mushroom Kingdom." Bombette was beginning to growl furiously, her being turning red with anger. Zane decided now was the time to put the figurative 'Icing on the cake.' "Or about how the Koopa Bros could be laughing, not at the bob-ombs in general but at 'You'..." He whispered the last part airily in Bombette's invisible, but existent ear. "Right at this 'very' moment."

... ... ... _'Snap'_ went Bombette's self-control and nerves. Bombette's eyes twitched, exasperated. Zane quickly ran away from the enraged female bob-omb screaming. "**FIRE IN THE HOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

Bombette's being became red with anger, and, in a cartoony fashion, grew in size, steam coming out of her fuse area. Her fuse becoming lit in pure anger.

**"GGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

* * *

Her scream could be heard in a ten mile radius. This was followed by a kaboom so big, an atomic bomb would've been envious. The kaboom also caused the fortress, basement and all, to jump 5 feet in the air, before hitting back on the ground hard.

* * *

The dust in the cell slowly cleared away, until Bombette came back into view, covered by soot, but otherwise unharmed. "Hah... ... ... That felt 'SO' good... ..." 

Everyone else was on the floor also covered by soot, unharmed as well. Zane slowly got back up, eye's wide. "If anyone told me someone had a bigger temper then I did, I would've been laughing." He said in exasperation. Soon the dust cleared up behind Bombette... Zane's jaw dropped when he saw that not only did the crack in the wall get blown open, but the wall itself was blown out of place and fell to the floor, creating a gigantic gaping hole in the side of the prison. 'Maybe my idea worked a little too well...' Zane thought gawking.

Bombette noticed the slack-jawed look on Zane's face. "What? Is something on my face?"

Zane slowly pointed behind the bob-omb, while everyone else got off the floor and noticed the sight with awe. "No..." Zane said slowly. "Look behind you..."

Bombette slowly turned around and saw what her explosion did. "Holy cow... I knocked down the whole segment of the wall..." She turned to the others and sweatdropped. "Well at least we can get out of here."

Everyone stood silent for a second... "She's right... ESCAPE ROUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" One of the Bob-ombs yelled suddenly. All of the bob-omb's yelled in celebration and quickly ran out the gargantuan hole in the wall. Bombette was the only bob-omb remaining in that prison cell after a few minutes.

Goombario's eyes widened. "Whoa... And here I thought me and my sister Goombaria could clear out of a room fast..."

Kooper noticed that Bombette had not moved from the exact same spot since the other bob-ombs stampeded out. "Aren't you going to go Bombette?" Bombette turned to the fallen wall and her ticket to freedom. "You've got your freedom just like you've wanted!"

Bombette turned to the other heroes. "Are you kidding?! And miss out on my chance to show up the Koopa Bros?!" Zane smirked at Bombette's response. "I'm not about to leave here without kicking the Koopa Bros BUTTS!!!!!!!" She gave a begging look. "So PLEASE!!! Let me join you on this little quest of yours!! You can give me the details on the way! And I'll pull my own weight and everything!"

Mario thought about that for a second. "All in-a favor for Bombette joining us?"

To say the vote was unanimous would've been understatement. "I don't see why not! She got us out of here!" Zane said.

"I like the idea!" Goombario said.

"Ditto!" Kooper responded.

"And I-a don't mind Bombette joining us-a either!" Mario turned to Bombette. "Bombette, you can come along with us, on this adventure!"

Bombette started to celebrate. "YES, YES, THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!"

Zane stepped out of the gargantuan hole and called. "Well what are we just standing around here for?!" Everyone walked out of the hole too. "Let's kick those 'TMNT' Wannabe's BUTTS!!!" Everyone cheered in agreement.

* * *

The Koopa Bros Fortress... So peaceful... So quiet... 

KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The front doors blew of their hindges and went flying. What was behind them? A ton of Freedom-bound bob-ombs. "We are OUTTA HERE!!!!!!" All the other bob-omb's cheered in agreement, and ran out of Koopa Bros Fortress' main area. A few Paratroopa's appeared out of the top tower of Koopa Bros Fortress and tried to stop them, but the bob-ombs were ready for them. They quickly threw some of their ranks up to the Paratroopas and they blew up in their faces. The bob-omb's continued their stampede out for a lot of minutes...

* * *

During that time, the heroes had walked through the entire fortress, and solved every puzzle there. Since the guards were so caught up in trying to stop the bob-omb's rampage, their was no-one to stop them. After a few minutes, they were back in the same room with the giant pool they had passed at the beginning... Only, they were now on a walkway of floor that was 5 stories up. The heroes looked downward at the pool and couldn't help but notice something giant and brick-made near the bottom. "Anyone telling me, what, THE HECK, is that?" Zane asked. 

Goombario took a closer look, he was about to say something, but Kooper beat him to the punch. "A giant staircase!! Hidden underwater!!"

Goombario didn't argue. "I'll say... I thought I saw something in that water! ... Besides the Koopa shells."

Bombette fumed. "I definately remember that. It took us WEEKS to dig that stupid pool! And they used it to hide another staircase..." She thought about it for a second... Then spat. "Not clever enough."

Mario found a switch nearby. "Hey-a everyone! A switch! Maybe it will-a raise the-a staircase! I'll press it!" And so he did. He pulled out his hammer and smashed the switch... It was quiet for a while... The whole tower then started to quake, knocking everybody off their feet.

Zane tried to raise back up to his feet, but he fell back down from all the rumbling. "I'm really starting to hope that switch won't make THIS tower crumble, like it did with the Goomba King's castle!!!"

Kooper and Bombette stared at Zane flabbergasted. "CRUMBLE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

Instead of the tower crumbling, a crane could be heard. The group looked back to pool below to notice that the water was starting to wave around. With a waver, the staircase at the bottom of the pool started to raise, taking along with it the same two koopa shells that the group had seen earlier. As soon as the staircase was around the second story the koopa troopa's that owned the free-floating shells began to realize what was happening, pulled out of their shells and began to panic. Knowing they'd be a problem, Zane quickly whispered a plan in Bombette's ear. Liking the plan, Bombette winked an affirmative, and lit her fuse, surprising everyone. Zane suddenly picked her up, and jumped down to the slowly rising staircase. The others looked flabbergasted at this action, as Zane hit the staircase, quickly threw the lit Bombette at one koopa, and spin-kicked the other. Bombette blew up in the first koopa's face, and the second one was sent flying at Zane's kick.

Zane smirked at the work done. "Gotcha now!!" Zane turned around to see the same koopa they had beat at the beginning of their dungeon trek. He was sopping wet, and seemed tired, he must've been trying to reach the walkway below. Zane rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles. However, this was interrupted by the staircase stopping suddenly. Zane looked to see that the staricase had reached the same suspended floorway that Mario and the others were on. The koopa looked to see that the other heroes had climbed up the stairs and was the same level with him.

The koopa chuckled nervously, now that he was outnumbered. He turned back to Zane to see that Bombette had hit the floor since after her explosion she was sent flying upward. The koopa's nervousness spiked upward at this. Zane slowly approached the koopa and smirked like the devil. "Kick Butt time..."

The koopa smiled nervously, for a second. Before waving his hand, "Uh.. (Nervous chuckle.) Bye!" He jumped off the giant stairs and into the pool below, all the while screaming. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" A crash confirmed that, instead of hitting the water, he hit the metal walkway. "Ooww..." came his voice from the first floor.

Zane smirked, satisfied that a troop got rid of himself for a change. "Now THAT'S more like it..!"

Bombette smirked herself. She had to admit; she liked Zane's style. "Man, you got rid of that guy without even touching him."

Zane turned to Bombette, "Heh, what can I say? Its a gift." Zane said, unknowingly quoting an equally short-tempered OC. Mario walked up the staircase to an overhanging floor that spiraled up the wall till about the tenth story.

"We can continue up from here! Lets-a go!" Everyone nodded and followed Mario up the walkway. Once they reached the tenth story, they saw a big door that would lead to the next room. Zane stopped the group upon noticing something a little further up the walkway.

"Wait a minute!" Everyone stared at Zane questionably. "Wait right here, I'll be right back." He walked further up the walkway until everyone lost sight of him. They waited around for him, for a while, until... KAABOOOOM!!! Came an explosion from further up the walkway. After a few minutes, Zane walked back down to them, covered in soot but otherwise fine.

"What happened up there?! We heard an explosion!" Kooper asked, semi-frantically.

Zane smirked and held up something he was holding in his hands. "I went further up and found this. There was a bob-omb guarding it, but nothing I couldn't handle." Everyone looked at what Zane found. It appeared to be a badge that had the appearance of a hammer with a small star on it.

Goombario was the first to react, "It's the 'Charge Badge!'" When Zane stared at him quizically, the goomba boy explained. "The 'Charge Badge' allows you to use the move 'Charge', where you can build up your power for a stronger attack. It's quite useful when your facing a tough opponent. The only downside is you have to wait a little bit before you can attack."

Zane nodded understanding. "Okay then..." He turned to Mario. "Mind if I take this one Mario? You already have that 'Power Jump' that Goompa gave you."

Mario shrugged. "I don't mind. Just be sure to use it sparingly."

Zane nodded again and pinned the badge on his Martial Arts jacket... Before he knew it, he felt something pop into his head, and he, almost instantly, learned the move Charge. "Wow! I fell stronger already!" He went past Mario and to the door. "What do you guys say, we kick the Koopa Bros butts?" Everyone cheered in agreement, Bombette was the loudest. "Okay, then! Here we go!!" Zane pushed open the door.

Instead of finding another room, the heroes found themselves outside, on a gigantic walkway, that went on a few feet to the tower opposite of the one they walked out of. Kooper looked further onto the path and saw, what looked like, three black pipes at the other end of the walkway. They walked on for a few more inches...

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE DUDES!!!" A voice called suddenly. Everyone stopped at the sound of that voice. Everyone looked down to the opposite tower to see the door suddenly fly open and three figures run out. They were none other then Yellow, Green, and Black Ninjakoopa of the Koopa Bros. They ran down the stairs and got in front of their own individual black pipes that Kooper noticed. Right behind the Black, Green, and Yellow was Red, who appeared angry about something. "Well, well, look who it isn't Bros! It's those losers we put in a prison cell!" He changed his tone to one of being cocky to one of anger. "I was wondering who let the bob-ombs out!! Thanks to you dudes, we don't have any more workers!! And for that you'll pay dearly dude!!"

Bombette shouted back first. "And speaking of which, you losers are going to regret the day you locked me and my friends up!!! I'll have to be sure to explode extra hard on your sorry butts!!!!!!"

Zane, wanting very much to tell them off first, just followed her example. "And for locking us up in that prison, me and my friends are going to beat you MORONS senseless!!!" He threw his fist out to emphasize his point. "I'm only speaking for myself when I say, that... I'M GOING TO KICK YOU'RE SORRY BUTTS SO HARD, YOU'RE FOLLOWERS, YOUR TUB OF LARD KING, AND YOUR FUTURE WANNABES ARE GONNA TO FEEL IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Red seemed unphased, although it seemed the other Koopa Bros were starting to get very nervous. They remembered quite well that Zane had flattened them back at Toad Town, and, since he was ticked off, could very well surpass that last beating through sheer brutality alone. "Dude! We don't scare that easily! Which is why we cooked up a little defense system to keep you from getting to the Star Spirit!"

Zane chuckled. "More like a way to keep me away from you morons! Are you sure that you didn't cook up this, 'Defense system' just to keep me from getting to you? Am I starting to scare you, maybe?!"

Black, Green, and Yellow stared at each other; they already feared Zane to begin with. "Yeah right!! Like we'd be scared of you! You can't match us dude! This proves it!!" He jumped down one step and pointed right at the heroes. "Bill Blasters, OPEN FIRE!!!!!!!" The other Koopa Bros lit fuses on the black pipes, and within a few seconds, missles shot out of the pipes nozzles. That's when the heroes knew what they were dealing with...

"Bill Blasters and Bullet Bills!!!!!!! HIT THE DIRT!!!!!!!!!!!" Goombario yelled. Everyone dove aside just in time to dodge three Bullet Bills. Mario looked to see the missles streaking away and hitting the opposite tower. Despite the explosions, the Bullet Bills did nothing to harm the tower. Although it seemed apparent that they could still do plenty of damage to them should they hit.

"And just to add onto your troubles..!" Red's voice called, the heroes looked up to see Red holding a small blue switch. He placed it on the ground and smashed it under his foot... There was a rumbling, and the top of the towers the Koopa Bros exited from opened up... Slowly rising from the tower was, whether the heroes could believe it or not, was one MOTHER of a cage... And inside was a giant bird completely covered by red feathers, and had a razor sharp beak. It appeared to be wearing body armor with bob-omb's strapped to it.

Mario freaked upon seeing it. "It's an Albatoss!!!"

Red Ninjakoopa pressed another button and the cage door flew open. "Get em' Albatoss! Send those dudes and dudettes, back home crying to mommy!!" The Albatoss screached an affirmative, and flew out of the cage. It's humongous form' flew over the castle dropping bob-ombs on the walkway where the heroes were. Red was laughing histarically at this. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! DUDE!! You have no idea how long it took to train that bird, but it was all worth it in the end!" He turned to the other Ninjakoopas. "Black, Yellow, Green!! Inside the tower, NOW!!! Time to watch the fun!!" And with that the Koopa Bros retreated inside their tower to, no doubt, watch how the whole thing would play out.

The Albatoss continued to drop bob-ombs on the heroes as it flew around, and the fact that the Bill Blasters were continually firing Bullet Bills didn't make it any better. Mario looked around at their current situation... "Okay... This isn't good." He turned to the others. "Guys we need to split up and maximize our efforts."

"I know!" Zane said, after blocking his eyes when an explosion kicked up some dust, as did everyone else. "Only problem is how are we going to do that!?"

Mario quickly scanned the castle's rooftop, and the top of the towers that surrounded the area. His eyes fell on two '?' block floating above a tower top some distance away. The plumber's eyes widened at the sight of it. "That's it!!!" He turned back to Zane. "Zane! Take Bombette and take care of those Bill Blasters! Me, Kooper and Goombario will get that Treasure Box up there to help us fight off that Albatoss!" Zane nodded ecstatically. "I'll also need two of those wing caps you bought at the Toad Town Store."

Zane gave him a thumbs up, and quickly pulled out two caps that appeared to have wings on them. "Use em' well! And good luck!!!"

Mario picked up Goombario, and put him on his shoulders. "Hang on Goombario! This is going to be a wild ride!" Goombario nodded in a panicky matter, before Mario ran to the edge of the brick walkway and made a jump for the tower near it. Kooper, using his 'Shell Toss' manuveurabilities, flew to the tower along with Mario. It almost surprised Zane that Mario made such an impossible jump, but knowing he was the 'Super Mario' helped him get over it.

Zane barely ducked another Bullet Bill shooting at them and it hit the opposite tower with explosive force. "Man these guys put the 'bomb' in 'cherry bomb'. And I don't mean that in the good way." He turned to Bombette. "Whaddya' say we show those overgrown tin pipes and their hard-headed shell friends, what happens when you mess with the best in the temper tantrum buis', eh?"

Bombette chuckled mischeivously. "Oh yeah... Time to send a few Bill Blasters over the rainbow." She said snidely. With a start, Bombette and Zane rushed full on into the charging Bullet Bills, throwing punches, and blowing up whatever came close.

* * *

Mario, with Goombario on his shoulder applying a death grip around the plumbers arm, and Kooper jumped from each of the towers and any giant rock face, trying to avoid the dropped bob-ombs from the Albatoss. Mario jumped as fast as he could and landed on another giant rock. He quickly pulled out one of the winged caps and gave it to Kooper. "Distract the Albatoss while I get to the treasure block!" 

Kooper gave him a thumbs up. "Gotcha!!" He took the cap readily and slapped it on his head. It disappeared in a glow... And wings appeared on the back of Koopers shell. "COOL!!! I'm a Parakoopa!!!"

Goombario's voice appeared, it sounded shakey after the wild ride. "O-o-o-only for a s-s-short time t-t-though..." Kooper turned to Goombario. "Like a regular magic hat's effect, the magic is only temporary. so make the best of the time you have."

Kooper nodded quickly, and took off. "I'LL KEEP THAT IN MIND!!!!!" he said as he flew off. Meanwhile, the Albatoss continued to drop bob-omb's on the heroes, completely unaware of a yellow and light blue blur speeding towards it... WHAAAAAAAAAAAM!!! The Albatoss was slammed upside the head and was nearly knocked out of the air. It looked back up to see Kooper flying through the air with the wings on the back of his shell. "COME ON BIRD BRAIN!!! SHOW ME WHATCHA' GOT!!!!" The Albatoss made a squack that sounded like it accepted Koopers challenge.

As the fight in the sky began, Mario and Goombario finally reached the '?' box. Mario hit the box with an uppercut jump, and out of the box popped what looked like a small white feather. Mario quickly grabbed it before the wind could blow it away. "A Power Feather! I haven't-a seen one of these since Yoshis Island!" He took out the second Wing Cap and gave it to Goombario. "Take this cap and follow me!"

Goombario nodded knowing that what happened with Kooper could happen to him. "Well I have to say I've never thought I'd fly before! But I'm ready for it!" He slapped the Wing Cap over his old cap, it immediately disappeared and wings appeared in his back. "Lets go roast that overgrown Turkey!"

Mario nodded, then focused on the Power Feather. It disappeared in a flash, as the power was absorbed by Mario. He closed his eyes and started to focus on the power of the Power Feather. The Camera begins to circle Mario zooming in and zooming out at random intervals. After circling him a few times, the camera stops in front of Mario. He jumped in the air... A flash of light covered Mario, when it went away it showed him wearing a cape that was bright yellow on top, and red on the bottom. He tucked his legs in and pushed them back out. with a boom energy started pulsating out of him, like electricity. **"HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!!"** he yelled. He suddenly disappeared at speeds that were not seeable by the human eye.

Goombario, knowing he was going straight towards the Albatoss, took off with a little bit of difficulty, and shouted as he flew. "HEY MARIO WAIT FOR ME!!!" He started flying towards the Albatoss.

* * *

Meanwhile down below, Zane and Bombette was plowing through the Bullet Bills, and getting closer to the Bill Blasters. "HAH, Try that!!!" Zane shouted, clocking a Bullet Bill upside the head and sending it flying elsewhere. "Bombette!" Bombette lit her fuse when she heard that, Zane quickly picked her up and threw her at a trio of bullet bills that were coming their way. They were defeated at the sound of the 'KABOOM'. "Gotcha!!!" He shouted... Before screaming "WHOA!!!" He ducked another bullet bill, which went kaboom on the floor next to him. 

Bombette landed on the floor next to Zane after that bullet bills explosion. "You okay Zane?"

Zane nodded. "Yeah, but you gotta admit..." This was cut off by another explosion, which he had to dodge. After landing he finished. "They shoot a pretty good game..." Zane took out one of his Fire Flowers. "But I guess that's why we have power-ups!" He looked to the flower and his smirk suddenly disappeared. "How do you work this thing, anyway?"

Bombette looked flabbergasted at that. "YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TA'..?!?!?" Instead of finishing, she sighed. "We're doomed..."

* * *

NUTCASE: Zane doesn't know how to use power-ups!? 

Me: Well, look at it through his eyes. He's only had his Martial Arts training to help him fight. The dojo, at least as far as I've seen it, doesn't use power-up items so it would be typical that he doesn't know how to use it.

Ace: True...

MMSB: I really liked the Super Mario Bros Z references, and your really going to use SMBZ style fighting next chapter?!?

Me: Well, the best I can do anyways. I hope you guys liked the chapter I made! Whats more I broke my record for the longest chapter made, last chapter was 6600 words, meanwhile this chapter is 9100 words! Now that's an impressive record! And I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can. (Gives a Peace sign.) R&R People!

Ace and Wally: Until next update!!!

Otto: Seeya everyone...

NUTCASE: And be sure to look for my current work, 'PokeMario!' for continued adventures of my OC Clayton Mario alongside Zane, Meriee, and others!

Crow: Don't forget us!! (Motions to him and Servo.)


	12. Vs The Koopa Bros

(I'm putting the finishing touches on this chapter, looking so giddy I was close to peeing my pants... Which is SAYING something.)

NUTCASE: Uh... You okay Gantz?

Ace: Yeah, what gives?

Me: I'LL TELL YOU WHAT GIVES!!! (Turns my seat around.) I just went to the theaters and saw 'PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN: AT WORLDS END' BABY!!!!!

(Everyone gawks.)

NUTCASE: You did?

Me: YOU BETTER BELIEVE I DID!!!! (Quiets down a little.) Albeit the ending... Left a little more to be desired... But besides that... IT WAS KICK-BUTT!!!!

Zane: What do you mean by, 'Ending left a little more to be desired'?

Me: Sorry, can't tell you! (Makes a 'Zip-the-lip' sign.) Gotta see the movie yourself. Anyways, in this chapter, Mario and friends finish up their fight with the Albatoss and the Bill Blasters, and immediately go into a fight with the Koopa Bros. Expect the best!! ON WITH THE STORY!!!!

* * *

Chapter .11.

Vs. The Koopa Bros

* * *

Okay lets try this again... The Koopa Bros Fortress... So Peaceful... So Tranquil... 

KAAAAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!

Guh, why do I even try? Anyways, the kaboom came from inbetween the two main towers of the fortress. Higher in the sky there was a humongous bird flying high. It appeared to be fighting something that was much smaller then it was. Upon closer inspection, the giant bird, more commonly known as an Albatoss, was fighting Kooper. His wings were still intact, though there was no telling how much longer he had before the Wing Cap's effect wore off. The Albatoss slammed the winged koopa aside with its wing. Kooper went flying a little ways, until he stopped himself. He shook off the blow, and stared at the Albatoss right in the eye. "DANGIT!!!! I can't fight him off alone like this!!!"

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Albatoss was suddenly hit square in the stomach. A large gust of air escaped the Albatoss' lungs before it was sent flying upward not by its wings but by the momentum of the hit. It was revealed to be Mario wearing a Power Feather Cape. He flew up to Kooper, "You-a okay?"

"Yeah..." Kooper said, scratching the back of his head bashfully. "It didn't hurt really."

"GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!" Mario and Kooper looked to see Goombario flying up to them. He seemed out of breath. "Wait up for me..." Goombario said trying desperately to catch his breath.

Mario looked back to the Albatoss, to see that the bird had righted itself and was about to charge again. The plumber rolled his eyes and prepared for another round with the Albatoss.

* * *

Back on the tower walkway, the bullet bills were still flying around hitting whatever they were shot at. Zane and Bombette had taken cover behind a piece of floor that was jutting out of the main floor. Zane still had the Fire Flower in his hands, but was still unable to learn how to use it. "You're kidding right!?!? You have a power-up and YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO USE IT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" Bombette screamed. 

Zane shrugged, "Hey, we were only taught martial arts fighting styles; we were never taught how to use power-ups." He looked back to the Fire Flower, and tried focusing on it really hard. He even tried begging internally. 'Come on... ... ... Please...' When nothing happened, he slammed his fist in frustration against the piece of floor sticking out. "DANGIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Bombette rolled her eyes. "Looks like we'll have to do without!" She and Zane, after he put up the fire flower, ran from behind their cover and charged towards the Bill Blasters. Zane punched a few Bullet Bills away, and Bombette blew up in the face of five Bullet Bills. Zane quickly jumped over another Bullet Bill... However this bullet bill was immediately followed by two others right behind it. Zane landed on the third bullet bill, and was trying desperately to balance on it, as it flew. Bombette, seeing she was now alone in this struggle, grunted angrily, and started charge the Bill Blasters. A Bullet Bill crashed onto the floor in front of her and before she could see it, another crashed into her, with a kaboom. She was sent flying backward, covered with soot and injured. Another Bullet Bill started to fly right at her. It grinned evilly as it zoomed in to finish her off... She was suddenly snatched out of the way by something going so fast, the Bullet Bill never had the chance to see it... Not that it could anyway since it hit the floor with a big kaboom long before it could look.

Bombette slowly opened her eyes and looked to see that she was hovering close to a Bullet Bill. She panicked a little, until her eyes wandered upwards. She almost gasped in disbelief. Standing ON TOP of the bullet bill, riding it like a surfboard was none other then Zane T. He easily kept his balance as he forced the Bullet Bill to make a turn. "WHAT THE?!?"

Zane smirked, "Don't you worry everything will be just fine! I've got perfect control of this thing!" Almost as if to contrast his words, the bullet bill tried to buck him off. Zane managed to stay on the ride and kicked the bullet bill back into order. When Bombette stared at Zane questionably, he corrected himself. "Okay, I ROUGHLY know how it works..." He put Bombette on his right shoulder. "You might wanna hold on..." Bombette, using invisible hands, held on to his arm as tight as she could. Zane bent down and grabbed ahold of the Bullet Bills arms. "OKAY, TIN BRAIN I'VE GOT A LOT TO DO TODAY, AND YOUR GONNA HELP ME DO IT! AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE ME ANY TROUBLE ABOUT IT. GOT IT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" The bullet bill, now fearing Zane, more then he feared anything else, nodded rapidly. Zane smirked. "Good." He suddenly yanked the bullet bills right arm. "Then turn around!!! It's time we do something about your buddies back there!!!" The Bullet Bill looked pained at how it's arm was suddenly yanked and turned back around towards Koopa Bros Fortress.

* * *

Back in the skies above Koopa Bros Fortress, the Albatoss was continuing it's rampage. Mario, Kooper, and Goombario were attacking the Albatoss with all the strength they had. The Albatoss was too strong for them, however. Mario sent a punch to the Albatoss' right side. The punch did damage but it wasn't enough to put the Albatoss down. The Albatoss countered by hitting Mario with it's wing. The plumber was sent flying backward at the hit. When he stopped, he was thankful that the hit wasn't strong enough to knock out his Power Feather power. Mario shook off the blow, and prepared for another go... Before Kooper slammed into him after the Albatoss sent him flying. Mario was barely able to catch Kooper before he collided with him. Kooper floated away from Mario and pulled out of his shell. 

"This isn't good... We're getting our butts kicked by this bird!" Kooper yelled. He turned to Mario "I hope you have a good idea, Mario! We can't fight this thing as is!" Suddenly a small down-grade sound effect could be heard. Kooper looked at his back... To see his wings disappear right before his eyes. "... ... ... ... ... ... ... Uh... oh..."

And thus he started falling to the ground. He barely started falling before Goombario quickly flew by, letting Kooper grab his feet. Goombario was struggling to keep in the air with the new weight hanging from his feet. "Man, this isn't good!! If Kooper's wings went out, that means it won't be too long before mine go out too!" Goombario said. Mario looked at the Albatoss and his thoughts were running rampant. Their must've been something that could be used to stop this thing... His eyes landed on the creature's armor, which still had bob-ombs attached to it.

An idea struck; 'Of course! Why didn't I think about it before??' He turned to his friends, "You-a guys land back on the ground, I-a know the perfect way to-a fix this overgrown turkey!" Goombario and Kooper nodded, and the flying goomba quickly flew towards the ground. Mario flew towards the Albatoss. The Albatoss, seeing the flying plumber coming straight for it, tried to swipe at him with it's right wing. Mario dodged the wing and flew up to the bob-omb's who were quietly standing still, awaiting to be used. "Hey!!!" Mario called. This got the bob-omb's attention. "What are you-a doing just waiting to be used? Why don't you just take a stand and show this stupid bird who's boss?!? I mean you guys are the one with the real fire power!!"

The bob-ombs looked at each other confused. "Hmm... He's right..." It was quiet for a second... "REBELION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

They suddenly lit there fuses. Seeing where this was going, Mario quickly flew away as fast as he could. The Albatoss looked down at it's chest armor… And squawked loudly in fear. It started flailing it's wings around trying to blow air on the bob-omb's fuses. It was successful in putting out the fuses, as Mario could see. He needed something to help set off the bob-omb's at a fast rate. But what? His thoughts turned to Bombette, her explosions were so strong that they were able to knock down a WALL. He snapped his fingers, liking the idea. So he quickly flew downward to find Bombette.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zane and Bombette were still riding on top of the Bullet Bill. Zane was directing the bullet bill they were riding, dodging the other bullet bills expertly. As they flew, he turned to Bombette, who was still hanging on to his arm with invisible hands. "Bombette!! Light your fuse!" Zane ordered. Bombette looked further in front to see they were fast approaching the Bill Blasters. She nodded and lit her fuse. As they approached, the Bill Blasters tried one last round, to which Zane rode away from expertly. They were about to pass the Bill Blasters when Zane threw Bombette, making her land right into the nozzle of center Bill Blaster. The Bullet Bill inside that certain Bill Blaster looked panicky when it saw Bombette's smug face. 

KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The center Bill Blaster was sent flying higher then any of the bullet bills it had fired. The Kaboom also knocked the other Bill Blasters over, knocking them for a loop. As the center one flew, it passed Zane and his bullet bill ride. Zane grabbed Bombette as the Bill Blaster flew. It continued flying until it became another star on the horizon. Bombette was covered with soot but otherwise unharmed. "Well… That was a nice kaboom." Bombette said with a goofy grin.

Zane nodded and let Bombette grab his arm so she could hold on as they flew. Mario flew past them as they went. As Mario flew he stopped, did a double take on what he just saw and flew back. He flew beside Zane in the next few seconds. "Zane! Bombette! We have a problem!" Zane turned to Mario questionably.

"What?" He asked, keeping control of the Bullet Bill he was riding as he did.

"The Albatoss is a lot tougher then first thought. But I think I have a way to beat it!" Mario yelled.

"What's that?!" Bombette asked, still applying her death grip to Zane's arm, with her invisible hands.

"It involves you Bombette!! Here's the plan!" Mario came up and whispered the plan to Zane, then to Bombette. Bombette seemed to enjoy the idea very much. "Think your up for it Bombette?" Mario asked, when he finished.

"YEP!!! Lets send that stupid bird back where he came from!!" Bombette yelled excitedly.

Meanwhile, with the Albatoss, the big bird had stopped flailing around when it realized the fuses on the bob-ombs went out. It sighed with relief before looking around, trying to find it's earlier opponents… It nearly gawked when it saw a Bullet Bill zooming towards it, holding a pink bob-omb on it's back, it's fuse lit.

The bullet bill was moving so fast, that the Albatoss never had time to move… … The sheer power of Bombette, the bullet bill, and the bob-omb's on its chest armor could be emphasized with one word…

KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-BBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A smoke screen covered the Albatoss and its occupants… Suddenly a few hundred bob-ombs were sent flying away from the smoke screen. One of them being Bombette. Mario flew up from out of nowhere and grabbed Bombette and at least a few more bob-ombs he could carry. Zane also appeared, riding another bullet bill he had tamed, and grabbed as many as he could too. The two returned the bob-omb's to the tower walkway, waiting for them was Goombario and Kooper. Goombario's wings had long since disappeared and he was unable to fly. Zane and Mario set down the Bob-ombs and looked back at the smokescreen.

The smoke cleared… EVERY SINGLE PERSON, (Even the audience.) Laughed their FREAKING heads off, when they saw what was left of the Albatoss. It's chest armor was in shambles, and it's red feathers were gone. It's eyes were wide and it's beak was half open. It looked like a well done roast turkey more then anything. "OH MY GOSH!!!!!!! NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A FEAST FIT FOR A KING!!!!!!!!!!" Zane joked. Everyone's laughter intensified at that. The Albatoss looked down on itself… Almost immediately, it covered it's lower half with it's wings, before it realized something else… It immediately tried flapping it's wings, trying to fly, but since it's feathers were gone that made it harder. What was surprising was that, despite the missing feathers, it started flying away from the fortress, with great difficulty. It was apparent that the only thing on this giant birds mind was to get away from psychos that blew him up. And that's what it did, coughing up some soot it had swallowed by accident as it went.

* * *

After 'thanks' were exchanged, the bob-ombs went on their way, leaving the heroes on the tower walkway. Mario turned to the tower that no doubt held the koopa Bros. "Okay then… We-a took care of the Albatoss, and their-a Bill Blasters… Now it's-a time to take care of the Koopa Bros themselves." The heroes nodded and walked to the tower. When Goombario walked to a small walkway that was to the side he found some Honey Syrup, an item, he explained, could recover Magic points when eaten. When it was put in Zane's bag, Mario went up to the tower door and opened it. 

Inside the door was a large room with a big walkway that lead to what looked like a garage-style door on the other side. Looking down from the walkway, they could see the levels further below, Kooper could see the same platform where the fake '?' block was floating, and he could guess that even further down was the same prison that the bob-ombs were trapped in. The garage door opened slightly and Yellow walked out to see who had entered the room. "HEY!!! Whats going on in..!" He asked. He couldn't finish that sentence before he saw Mario and friends. "WHOA!!!" He turned to the garage door. "Are we ready to go guys?"

Green appeared from the door; he ran up to Yellow, grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back to the garage door. "Come on Yellow!! It's time!!" The Garage door closed behind them.

The heroes stared at each other quizzically. Red's voice came from nowhere. "Okay then, hold still we got it… What THE?!? WHOA!!!" A thud could be heard. "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING YELLOW?!?!? THAT WASN'T COOL AT ALL!!!!!"

Yellow's voice could be heard. "Okay sorry Red, now lets try that again…"

Red, now sounding satisfied, continued. "Okay then…" It was quiet for a second…

"HIIIIYYAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Came Red's voice suddenly.

The Garage door opened in a flash, and out of it rolled… The heroes did a double take at what they were seeing, Kooper even rubbed his eyes to make sense of what he was seeing. What rolled out of the garage-like door was one of the **WORST** imitations of Bowser that any of the heroes had ever seen. It stood on tank-like wheels, it was maybe 8 feet tall, everything seemed just slapped together, and the **ONLY** traits the thing carried that even **SLIGHTLY** resembled Bowser, was the green shell back that had spikes, and the head at the top that looked something like Bowser. Aside from that nothing of it even resembled the Koopa King…

* * *

_**  
("Did I mention it was the WORST imitation of Bowser they had ever seen?")

* * *

**_

"HAR, HAR, HAR, HAR, HAR, HAR, HAR!!!!!!!! Hello Mario!! It is I, the great King Bowser, ready to put an end to you!!!" Came Red's voice from inside the not-so well made Bowser mech.

Zane and Mario turned and stared at each other. They sweatdropped. "THEY… CAN NOT… BE SERIOUS…" Zane said; a super cynical tone in his voice.

Mario nodded an exasperated nod. "I know… I mean… HONOSTLY…"

'Mecha Bowser' rolled forward and stopped in front of the heroes. Red's voice could be heard again. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, Surrender Mario!!! I'm the coolest king in this whole entire world!! You don't stand a chance against me!!"

The heroes just stared up at the Bowser mecha with unimpressed looks on their faces. Zane slowly picked up Bombette, whispered in her ear, and, when she winked, liking the idea, they walked up to the mech. "None of you stand a chance against me!!! I--- What are you doing?" Red continued, but stopped when he saw Zane and Bombette walk up to him.

Zane saw a hole that was covered up by cloth, just big enough for Bombette to fit through. He ripped the cloth off, revealing Yellow Ninjakoopa. Green seemed to be standing on his back, followed by Black, and he could guess that Red was at the top. Yellow chuckled nervously. "heh heh, Pay no attention to the Koopa behind the curtain?" He quoted helplessly. Zane answered by dropping a lit Bombette inside the pathetic mecha and slapping the cloth back over the hole. He slowly and calmly walked away from the mecha…

Meanwhile inside the mecha, the Koopa Bros heard the burning of a fuse and looked down. Bombette chuckled evilly as her fuse continued to run. "Lock ME in a prison, huh?"

The Koopa Bros looked like their eyes were about to burst out of their head. "Ooooh… Dude…"

KAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All of the pieces of the mecha were sent flying every which way, and all of them fell off the walkway, falling to the lower levels below. Bombette was still right in the center of where the explosion took place. She calmly walked back towards the heroes. "Too easy." She chuckled.

Goombario started to celebrate, "Way to go, Bombette!! You taught those losers who's boss!!"

Mario nodded with a smile, before he started looking around. "Yes, but now the question remains… Where's the Star Spirit?"

"You won't be getting him till after you beat us, dudes!!!" A voice called out suddenly. The heroes looked around for the source of the voice. The Koopa Bros suddenly appeared out of nowhere with a jump, landed on the floor in front of the heroes, and glared at them resentfully. "You don't know who you're messing with dude!!!" It turned out that it was Red's voice. "So allow me to show you!!! Play the theme tune Yellow!!!"

The view shows a small stereo, Yellow's hand appeared from the side and pressed the play button.

* * *

_**  
(The Koopa Bros Battle Theme plays in the background.)

* * *

**_They suddenly called out there names as the slid across the view. 

"RED!!!"

"BLACK!!!"

"GREEN!!!"

"YELLOW!!!"

They were all pointing at the heroes after their introduction. "And together..! WE ARE!!!" Red said. The Koopa Bros suddenly entered a pose where all of them gave a thumbs up. A small showy flash came from each of their thumbs. "THE KOOPA BROS!!!!!!"

Zane was beginning to get ticked off by these posers. "YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!! IF DEFEATING YOU LOUDMOUTHED, MORONIC, POSERS IS GOING TO GET THE STAR SPIRIT HERE, THEN HOW ABOUT YOU STOP FLAPPING YOUR DAMN PIE TRAPS AND STAND THERE SO I CAN KICK YOUR..!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Red interrupted sharply, knowing where this was going. "AS I was saying… Black, Yellow, Green!! Take care of Mario, the goomba, the koopa, and the bob-omb!.." He turned to Zane. "I'll handle this big-mouthed toad, myself." The Koopa Bros looked at Red like a second head had just sprouted from his neck. The gaze easily had two meanings, one; Well okay, thanks for taking care of him for us, two; ARE YOU STARK RAVING MAD?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Red rocketed forward, and slammed Zane full long into the stomach. This blow caused Zane and Red to rocket right back out the door to the tower walkway. Black drew back into his shell and rocketed at Mario. At the last second before hitting Mario he pulled out and threw punches at the plumber. Mario blocked the blows and soon flew backwards using his Power Feather powers, Black followed right along with him, using his ninja prowess. Yellow and Green tossed themselves at Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette. Kooper pulled into his shell, and shot in another direction. Goombario, nor Bombette, was as fast however and were slammed aside by Yellow and Green. Seeing this, Kooper swooped in and picked up Goombario and Bombette, or to be more precise, Goombario first, while Bombette ended up landing on top of his head. With a start Kooper zoomed out the door, Goombario and Bombette hanging on for dear life. Green and Yellow quickly followed behind them.

Meanwhile, back outside, Zane regained himself and blocked Red when he tried to hit him. He punched the koopa away, and turned to help Mario with Black. As for those two, they were throwing punches fiercely. Zane quickly charged and tried to throw a punch at Black… However, he was sent flying at the last second by Red.

Mario finally punched Black away, and pulled out his hammer. When Kooper zoomed by with Goombario and Bombette on his shell, this signaled Green and Yellow to come flying at him. Mario pulled into a 'baseball bat' pose… Before Yellow and Green could get past him, he slammed them both away, sending them flying.

Kooper continued to fly with Bombette and Goombario on his shell. Black suddenly came out of nowhere, and tried to ram them. Kooper dodged. "We can't continue on like this!!! We need to fight back somehow!!" Kooper said.

Goombario looked at Black about to make a counter hit. His thoughts rapidly raced, how were they gonna get out of this mess? A thought struck him! Of course! "Kooper!!!" He called. "Just dodge him a little bit more!! I'll work on something!!!"

"Alright!!! But make it quick!!!" Kooper called, dodging Black's hits. Goombario took out some rope from seemingly nowhere, and gave some to Bombette. "Help me tie this to Kooper!" Bombette nodded and hurried to help Goombario.

Meanwhile, somewhere around the Koopa Path, Zane and Red were now trading blows between each other. Zane threw punches against Red and they managed to connect, while others were dodged. Red threw some punches of his own, and they had the same result. Zane threw a right, then a left, to which Red dodged easily with a backflip. The backflip had him about to land on the back of his shell. But the time was all he needed. He thrusted his legs out in a double-foot kick and slammed Zane in the stomach. The toad was sent flying backward at the blow. He slammed through a rock face and through a bushel of trees.

Upon landing, Zane slowly peeled himself off the ground, and, as soon as he did, slammed his fist against the ground. "**DANGIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**"

He slowly stood up and thought about what to do next. "Lets see… Red Ninjakoopa and I are pretty equal in fighting capabilities… The only difference between them, is he's got even sneakier tricks…" Zane started to think about what to do. "I can probably beat him, I just need to be smarter is all…" A thought suddenly struck him. "OR…" He reached into his bag and pulled out the same Fire Flower he had tried to use earlier. "Okay… How to use this…" He tried focusing on the power of the Fire Flower like before… But that did nothing, like before. "OH, FOR CRYIN' OUT!.. WHAT'S IT GONNA TAKE, HUH?!?!?!?!?" He shouted at the flower.

… Suddenly, as if to answer his question, a memory of one of his old days at the dojo reappeared in his head. His masters words that day, was what struck extra hard.

"_Before you fight, you must learn this single lesson… You must BELIEVE in your own power if you want to show how far it can take you."_

Zane took those words to heart, and tried focusing on his own power. The view blackens out completely. Suddenly, a fire appears out of nowhere. This fire symbolizes the fighting spirit deep inside Zane. Suddenly a Fire Flower appears in front of the flame, and vanishes into the flame. The typical upgrade sound effect is heard, and suddenly the flame intensifies into a gigantic blaze.

Back outside, the view shows only Zane's closed eyes. Zane slowly opened them, and looked down at himself… He almost fell clear over at what he saw. His Martial Arts jacket remained as is, but his pants were now fiery orange, and his shoes were Crimson Red. The spots on his mushroom hat (Or whatever that thing on top of their head is.) had changed from Black, to red with black hints. "W-WHAT THE?!?!?" He looked at his new clothes again and tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Was this part of the Fire Flower's power? He also felt a power raging through him like an inferno. He also felt something on his fist, he lifted it up… And almost panicked when he saw it was on fire!! He tried to shake it off for a few minutes, before he realized something strange… His hand was on fire… Yet it wasn't hurting. A strange thought came over him. He tried willing the fire away, about to think how stupid… At that thought the fire went away. Zane stared in confusion, was he… In CONTROL of the flames? He tried willing the flames back on his fist. The flames did as such almost immediately.

Zane stared at the flames in surprise. He WAS in control of the flames!! "Hey weaky Toad Dude!! Where are you?" Zane looked up recognizing that voice. It was Red, obviously looking for him. "Come on out dude, I only wanna kick your butt… A LOT..!"

Zane was starting to get very annoyed by that Koopa. He stared down at his flaming fist and smirked sadistically. "Oh yeah, I'm so gonna ENJOY this…" He started running in place… Before he knew what happened the power of the Fire Flower had him zooming at the speed of Mach 1, leaving a small trail of flames behind him from the intense friction.

"Hey dude!! Come on!! I promise it won't be that bad!! As a matter of fact..!" Red continued to shout as he looked. He suddenly heard something that almost sounded like a Sonic Boom coming right at him… And it was coming **FAST**… He turned to the direction of the noise… Only to see Zane running at him so fast, a certain blue hedgehog would've been proud. And what was more… He was covered with flames like a meteor. "… OOH…!!!!!!!" That was all he had time to say…

**WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

* * *

_**(Right at the moment of the wham, the fighting music changes from Koopa Bros Battle Theme to Zane's (Popple's) Battle Theme.)**_

* * *

Zane's fist collided with Red's stomach. A gigantic gust of fresh air left Red's wind-pipes and it was almost a miracle that his shell didn't break under the fierce hit. Zane didn't stop there however. He quickly followed this up with two punches, two fierce jump kicks, IN THE SAME JUMP, and started throwing punches so fast, it was like a thousand fire covered fists were attacking the poor Ninjakoopa… ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY... He followed this with a tough punch to gut, and followed this punch with an uppercut; his master's Dragon Uppercut Special. However, the power of the Fire Flower kicked in along with it. The uppercut was so TOUGH, that that one single punch hit several times. What's more, his uppercut shot upward with the force of a FREAKING ROCKET, with the sound effects, fire helping him launch upward, and everything!!! 

Meanwhile, Kooper's shell was shooting around. On it was Goombario and Bombette now tied to some rope that was tied around Kooper's shell. "Okay, this rope should be 'blast proof' and Fire retardant. So exploding with it wrapped around you shouldn't harm it."

Bombette stared at Goombario questionably. "And you got this rope BECAUSE..?"

Goombario shrugged. "Hey I thought it would be a good idea to have some rope just in case, and this kind was all they had in stock."

Black, Yellow, and Green suddenly appeared their shells shooting at the trio of heroes. Goombario turned to Bombette. "Okay! Just like we planned!" He said. Bombette nodded and lit her fuse… The Koopa Bros came ever closer to the heroes… Closer, so much closer… "NOW!!!!!" Goombario shouted suddenly. Bombette jumped off Kooper's shell and landed right in front of the Koopa Bros.

KAAAAAAABBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The three ninjakoopas were sent flying at the explosion. While they were in the sky, a red blur slammed into Black and Green sending them flying one way. While Red ninjakoopa suddenly slammed into Yellow, and before he could move, a black and red blur slammed them in the opposite direction, the plain red blur did. The red blur turned out to be Mario and he started an uneven fight against Black and Green. Black withdrew into his shell and tried to take a shot at Mario, but Mario disappeared a split second before it hit, making him hit Green instead, who was trying to make a similar shot. They both slammed into each other as a result. Mario reappeared, his hammer at the ready. He reeled back and swung forward, the result was a hammer swing move that had him bouncing off of Green and Black like a pinball bouncing between pinball bumpers. (And just as fast too.)

Back with Red and Yellow, they had similar worries. The Black and Red blur turned out to be Zane, still hyped up on Fire Flower power. Red shot at Zane, to which Zane blocked and they begun an all out exchange of punches and kicks. During this time, Yellow snuck up behind the toad and prepared to make another sneak attack, knowing full well one well placed hit would rob Zane of the Fire Flower Power. He was about to rush forward when Kooper's shell rushed from out of nowhere, and Goombario, still attached by rope to Kooper, slammed him with a flying Headbonk. Due to the rope, Bombette was able to pull Goombario back in, after the hit connected.

Seeing his one chance sunk, Red started to panic. For a split second his punches started to get sloppy… Just what Zane needed. He grabbed Red's fist and quickly threw the poor Koopa back at the tower. As Red went flying, Zane suddenly vanished, and reappeared in Red's flight path. With a powerful upward kick, he was sent flying. As Red went flying, the other Koopa Bros suddenly joined him. Mario and Zane reappeared right above them, moving so fast it almost looked like they teleported. Two strange flashes yet showy flashes appeared from both Zane and Mario.

To sum it all up, the downward kick that followed sent the Koopa Bros through the ceiling of their own tower, and right back on their walkway, at the top floor. Kooper, with Goombario and Bombette on his back, appeared. Zane and Mario right behind them. "Well Bombette, now's a good time as any for payback!" Bombette smirked evilly.

"Yeah! Kaboom time!" Bombette walked inbetween the down Koopa Bros, and her fuse lit. "THIS IS FOR LOCKING ME IN THAT STUPID PRISON CELL AND HURTING MY FRIENDS YOU STUPID SONS OF A..!!!!"

**KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

* * *

_**(Zane's or Popple's Battle Theme ends abruptively at the kaboom.)**_

* * *

The Koopa Bros were sent flying off the walkway. "WHOOOOOAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The Koopa Bros fell down to the lower levels. Their screams could be heard until a loud thud cut them off. 

Everyone looked down the walkway to see the platform to see what had happened. The Koopa Bros missed the ramp at the ground floor, and apparently landed in the giant cell in the basement. "Mario, you have the Power Feather… Go see what happened to them…" Zane said. Mario nodded then, using the Power Feather power, flew down to see where they landed.

As soon as he reached the basement, he saw that the Koopa Bros had indeed landed in the Prison cell. What was surprising was the fact that the wall Bombette blew down was repaired, thus entrapping the Ninja's inside. What's more was the fact that the pieces of the Bowser Mecha was scattered all over the floor. The Ninjakoopa's looked around in a dazed matter. "Hey! HELLOOOO!!!!! Can someone let us out of here?!?!?!?"

Mario flew back upward to the others at the top level. "They-a landed in the-a same prison cell we were stuck in." He said. Everyone stared at Mario with disbelief. "Don't worry, Someone must've repaired it while we were going through the fortress. The Wall's all fixed up, and the Koopa Bros are trapped inside."

Everyone chuckled. "Oh the sweet irony." Goombario said with a grin.

Zane and Bombette leaned over the walkway. "I hope you boys enjoy your time in prison!! Cause I sure DIDN'T!!!!!"

Zane went next. "THAT'LL TEACH YOU NOT TO MESS WITH ZANE T. YOU DANG IDIOT POSERS!!!!!!"

The Koopa Bros screaming could be heard from way down there somewhere. The heroes all gathered up. "Okay we kicked their butts… But where's the Star Spirit?" Zane asked.

Mario slowly tapped Zane on the shoulder. "What?" He asked, turning around. He immediately got his answer… A small ball of light no bigger then a pea appeared in the center of the room, a small high pitched musical note could be heard. It went on for a second before the pea sized light suddenly popped, scattering the light particles to and fro. The light particles rejoined back in the center of the room, making the shape of a card. On one side of the card was an insignia version of Bowser's ugly mug, while on the other side had a picture of a yellow star with a white mustache. Zane recognized the star picture almost immediately. "Eldstar?" Mario walked forward and took the card… A bright flash responded to his touch. When Zane's eyes adjusted he saw an amazing sight. The Card was spinning around fast, floating above Mario's head. The spinning intensified, and a bright light covered the card, from the light, a silhouette of a star could be made out.

One final flash was enough to end the light show. The light was so bright it could've blinded everyone, if they hadn't covered their eyes fast enough. The light died down after a few seconds. The group took a second to readjust their eyes and looked back at Mario. They almost gawked at what they saw… Floating above Mario's head was none other then Eldstar himself! No Holograms, no fakes, no nothing, it was just him in all of his glory. "Phew!! Thank you Mario for getting me out of that cramped space!"

"ELDSTAR!!!" Zane called. Eldstar looked to Zane. "Is it really you?"

Eldstar looked upon the boy, almost flattered by the attention. "Of course it's me! Who else would it be?"

It was quiet for a second… "YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!" Went Goombario, and Zane. "We rescued the first Star Spirit!!!!" Kooper immediately joined in on the celebration.

Bombette stared at the festivities for a second, before shrugging. "Aw, what the heck?" She said to herself before joining in too.

Mario and Eldstar chuckled a little at the festivities.

* * *

_**(The Paper Mario 'End of Chapter' song plays in the background.)**_

* * *

Narrator:_ With the recently acquired help from his new friends, Zane, Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette,_

_Mario was successful in saving the first Star Spirit, named Eldstar._

_With his new friends, Mario will continue to journey forth into the Mushroom Kingdom to save the other Star Spirits,_

_Their Adventure has just begun!_

(Fade to black.)

* * *

The view shows an otherwise empty room... After a second, a ball of ghostly purple energy appears. It chuckled evilly before disappearing to who knows where.

* * *

Me: And there you have it!! Chapter 11; Vs the Koopa Bros! 

MMSB: YEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU FOR THAT SUPER MARIO BROS Z FIGHTING, BABY!!!!!!!!!!! (Laughs histarically.)

Ace: Yeah, that fighting made the entire scene! I especially liked it when Zane finally learned how to use the Fire Flower. The result was COMPLETELY HILLARIOUS!!!!!!

Otto: (Smirking like the devil, that pretty much said he enjoyed it.)

Wally: Ditto! Although you seemed to leave out the Koopa Bros Special Attack...

Me: In a sense, the Koopa Bros never had time to use it. (Turns to Nutcase and friends.) What'd you guys think? (Turns to the screen.) That goes for you, the readers, Too!!!! (Gives a peace sign.) R&R PEOPLE!!

Ace and Wally: Until next update!!


	13. Start of a Struggle

(I just got off the phone.)

Me: Okay, everyone. It would seem that my Author Booths repairs are almost finished! They say that it should be finished at the end of the hour!

Otto: FINALLY!

Wally: It'll be nice to sleep in my own room again!

Ace: (Turns to Nutcase and the robots.) But..! (Grabs both boys' ears.) It's been a real pleasure to stay here with you boys!

Wally: (Cringes as his ears being yanked.) Yeah! It was great! I really enjoyed hanging around with Zane and the robots again!

Otto: (Cringes less the Wally does.) Yeah, if coulda had one more incident that involved one of the robots getting sliced in half, turned to ash, or broken into a million pieces, I'd die happy… (Everyone stares at Otto eyes wide. Otto smirked mischievously.) I was kidding! Just kidding!

Nutcase: Ah it's okay guys. I understand.

Me: Anyways for this chapter, The view point will switch to Peach and Twink who sneak out for the first time. We also see Blaine Mallet Zalles again, and a new problem comes to the Koopa's mind. Enjoy!!!

* * *

Chapter .12.

Start of a Struggle

* * *

The view once again shows Bowser's Castle, with Peach's castle still on top of it. The screen turns black, and comes back on, showing Peach still locked up in her room. Twink had rejoined her some time after giving the Lucky Star to Mario and friends. Peach was pacing around out of boredom and anticipation. Twink floated in front of Peach, getting her to stop. "What's wrong Princess Peach?"

Peach stared at Twink. "Well I'm so worried about Mario… I'm worried that he's hurt… I'm just so worried!"

Twink spun a little, and flashed her a small smile. "Don't you worry Princess Peach! I'm sure Mario's fine, definitely!!" He looked to the balcony. "Why I bet he's out collecting some Star Spirits right now!"

Peach turned to Twink and smiled. "Yeah you're right Twink. Why should I worry? Mario's okay and he always will!" Peach started pacing around again. "But still, I can't stand just waiting around!" She turned back to Twink. "If only there was a way to help Mario and not just stand here waiting to find out what happened next…" Peach thought about it for a second… Her face suddenly brightened. "OH! I've got it!"

Twink looked surprised. "You have an idea?"

Peach nodded. "Yes! I remember Toadsworth saying something about an escape route out of this room!"

Twink gave a few celebratory cheers. "Really? Then what are we standing around here for?? Let's take a look around for it!"

Peach nodded. "My thoughts exactly!" And with that Peach and Twink started looking around for the secret escape route…

* * *

Meanwhile, Blaine was taking his break from his guarding duties. (It was someone else's shift.) As he walked around, he allowed his mind to wander to what all had happened to him in recent days. He had finally gotten over the nightmare he had when he first started guarding Peach's bedroom door. He and his friends were now messing around in a certain room of the first floor foyer. They were planning on setting up a small game show set so they could have a bit of a quiz show. Blaine's friends were a band of crooks called… James Thieves.

One of the thieves was a Magi-Koopa that constantly kept his rather large wizards hat pulled down so it covered his eyes in an almost shy matter, and he also seemed like something of a dweeb. His name was Steve.

Another one was a female goomba with a purple top-hat, and a small bowtie. Her name is Goombalina.

There was also a female boo, who wore jewelry on her arms, a small bow and had a snide look in her eyes. She was named Betty.

And last, but not least, was the leader of the group. He was a bandit, wearing red robes, the usual white bandit mask, brown boots, and seemed to be carrying a small orange bag, that looked strangely reminiscent of a Fire Flower. His name was James.

Blaine was moving a large piece of cardboard that, on one side, resembled a flashy game show platform. Goombalina, being the strongest of the group, was helping him. James was fixing a small system that could make an actual working buzzer for the four platforms that were against the wall. Steve, riding on his broom while doing so, was up to the ceiling, trying to make a spot-light system. Meanwhile, Betty was helping by placing streamer all along the ceiling.

"I have to admit…" James said putting the finishing touches on the buzzer system. "I never thought setting up a quiz show like this would be fun." He pushed one of the buzzers to give it a test. He smiled smugly when it buzzed like it should've.

As he went to test the second one, Blaine and Goombalina came up and put up the cardboard decoration. By the time it was up, it looked like it actually came from a quiz show. Steve looked away from his wiring and saw it being set up. "Not bad guys! At the rate we're going, we'll have this thing set up in no time!" While he was not looking, he placed a certain wire in a nozzle… Obviously that was NOT where it was meant to go… **ZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!** In an astounding light show, Steve was sent flying every which way, the electricity surging through him like he was a piece of machinery. The light, every few seconds, showed Steve regularly, every other few seconds, it would flash and show his skeleton like that of a classic cartoon. After a few minutes, Steve hit the floor, a lot of his body parts twitching every few minutes.

Everyone quickly ran to his side. "STEVE, YOU DIMWIT!!! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF?!?!?!?" Betty shouted in frustration, obviously used to Steve's little accidents.

"You okay, Steve?" Goombalina asked, knowing that he was quite alright.

"Yeah…" Steve answered, a small pained tear going down his face.

"Good… What did we learn today?" Goombalina asked in a sweet tone.

Steve twitched from the electricity still going through him. "Never take your eyes off your work? ESPECIALLY if it involves electrical wires, which can send 8000 volts of electricity into your body?"

Goombalina rolled her eyes and smiled, "Good enough."

Blaine turned to James. "I guess it's safe to assume this happens often?"

James rolled his eyes annoyed. "It's a miracle we get anything done with this moron around, but he does have his uses." Blaine knew what James meant; Steve's hood was where their strongest member, Goombalina, lived, and he had the flying broom which Steve could use to take the group away for long distances; by far his only skill.

"Yeah, but he's still fun to have around." Blaine commented, turning to see Betty and Goombalina helping Steve back up. "Maybe, you should take care of the spot lights James."

James sighed annoyed. "I'll get a ladder…" He reached into his bag, and, no matter how impossible it seemed, he pulled a rather big ladder out of his tiny bag. He placed it underneath the spotlight system and climbed up. Using a pair of rubber gloves he had pulled out of his bag before coming up, he corrected Steve's mistake and fixed it up properly. "There! All taken care of!" He took a switch from his pocket. "Someone hit the lights!" Steve, twitching from the electricity with each step, went to the lights.

"Whoa!!! Oh no you don't Steve!! You're a fire hazard right now!" Betty said stopping him. "I'll hit the lights."

"Hold on!" James said climbing down the ladder. Betty turned off the lights after James was at the bottom of the ladder, and had stored it back in his bag. James hit the switch, once the lights switched off. A spotlight came on.

"LAAAAADIEEEES AND GENTLEMEN!!!!!!!!" Came Steve's voice. "We present to you, for your entertainment tonight! The 64th annual Nintendo Quiz Show!!! And here's your host's with the most!! BLAINE MALLET ZALLES, AND BETTY BOO!!!"

The Spotlight widened and Blaine, now wearing a small bowtie, jumped into the spotlight. He was followed by Betty, who was wearing some snazzy looking earrings along with her other jewelry, and her bows looked more dressy. "Hello everyone!!! I'm Blaine Mallet Zalles..!" Blaine introduced.

"And I'm Betty Boo!" Betty finished for Blaine.

"And we're coming at you live from Castle Toadstool, under Bowser's control if I might add, to give you the show of a lifetime!" Blaine said, as if he was speaking to a live audience.

"And that is, you guessed it, the 64th annual Nintendo Quiz Show!!! The Quiz that could be over just about anything!!!" An audience's cheer could be heard from somewhere. "For the first segment of the show, we will be with our contestants so they can choose the topic they want to be quizzed over! And here they are!!!"

The lights came back on to reveal one finished platform and three uncompleted ones. Blaine took control of the situation. "As you can see, we are still trying to complete our stage being under a low budget, but we are doing fine! Contestant #1 is a fiery tempered bandit and the leader of his own band of crooks. Your favorite hardworking minion, and mine..! James Bandit!!!!"

The spotlight shown on James, who chuckled and bowed a little. "Thank you Blaine! It's an honor being here!"

Betty introduced the next competitor. "Contestant #2 is one of the toughest girl's I've ever had the pleasure of knowing! Despite lack of hands, this girl can kick butt with the best of them! We have the Goomba Warrior Princess..! GOOM-BA-LINA!!!"

Goombalina jumped on the unfinished platform table, and gave a small bow. "Thank you for the wonderful introduction Betty!"

"And finally! Our third contestant! He's a trainee Magi-Koopa with a knack for flying! His clumsiness is known almost everywhere, but where he lacks in grace he makes up for knowledge..! We have the Hooded Turtle Mage..! STEVEN K. MAGI-KOOPA!!! OTHERWISE KNOWN AS STEVE!!!"

Steve blushed a little. "I'm not afraid to admit it, I don't have much grace, but I'm still one smart cookie!"

Betty turned to the fourth platform. "Our original fourth contestant, Petunia, the giant Piranha Plant, and Steve's girlfriend, was unable to attend due to being stuck on the ground. But rest assured! A new contestant will be found before the game begins in a few days!"

Blaine walked on screen. "But until then, I'm Blaine Mallet Zalles…"

Betty floated beside him. "And I'm Betty Boo…"

They finished together. "And we're here with the 4-1-1 on the biggest show on the Mushroom Kingdom!"

It was quiet for a second. Everyone started laughing at the whole thing. "Oh man!! If you two really became hosts, you'd really become the life of the party!!" James said with a grin.

"Yeah, whatever." Betty said removing her more dressy bows and placing her original ones back on.

Blaine removed his bowtie. "Well that was fun. Well guys, I think we should get back to work, my shift starts in…" He checked his wristwatch. "40 minutes, we should get as much done as we can." Everyone nodded and immediately went back to work on the quiz show.

… He would consider himself lucky that this wasn't his shift, after what happened today…

* * *

The view now shows Bowser's room in Peach's castle. It was devoid of Bowser or any other Koopa. It was quiet for a few moments… The fireplace in the room stood still, no flame lit, and the kindling sitting idly around. The fireplace was decorated with a tiny fence like barrier, and had some decorated tile inside the barrier… Tiles that was different from the floor outside the tiny fence barrier.

The fireplace suddenly started a slow spin; it spun around until it was revealed that the wall around the fire place, was, in fact, hollow, and had a hallway was hidden behind it. The wall continued to spin until the other side of the wall took the place of the original. Standing near that wall was Princess Peach herself. She was looking around in a panicky fashion. She was obviously not expecting the wall to spin. When she found herself in the empty room, smiled in relief. "Well, I'm glad we didn't end up in a room full of guards…"

Twink appeared from behind Peach, and looked around himself. Once he established the same thing, he flew out freely, and gave a sigh of relief. "Yeah… That wouldn't have ended to well…"

She slowly walked around the room giving a careful look to the door she had noticed. She noticed a desk on the opposite side of the room from where the door was. She slowly walked up to the desk. There was a dark red book that was left out and open on the desk. Peach took a small look at it. "What's this?"

Twink took a close look at the book himself. "Hmm… This looks like a date here… Maybe this is someone's diary."

Peach looked pleasantly surprised. "A diary?? Maybe this will give us clues as to where a Star Spirit is!"

Twink nodded, thinking the idea made sense. "Kinda devious… But hey, it's for the Honorable Star Spirits well being!" He took a closer look at the writing style. "But still, it makes me wonder whose diary this is…"

Peach took a close look at the diary, Twink did the same…

* * *

(Unknown Diary.)

_Month: April, Day: 14_

_Heya diary, today was something of a drag. The soldiers have been slacking off as usual. But if one good thing came out of this, Kamek read up on some kind of ancient artifact that's called the Star Rod that's guarded by the ancient Star Spirits. It all sounded very good to me! As soon as we found it, we could go and steal the Star Rod. After hearing all of this, I spent the rest of the day to think about where I can find this… 'Star Haven'…_

(End Entry.)

* * *

Twink stared questionably, Something about this writing style reminded him of someone. "I can't help but feel that I know the person who wrote this." He turned the page. "Should we keep reading?"

Peach nodded. "It'll be a good idea. Let's keep going." Peach took a close look at the page.

* * *

(Unknown Diary.)

_Month: April, Day: 15_

_Today was great diary!! Today, me and Kammy went up to Star Haven and took the Star Rod!! I even imprisoned the Star Spirits so they wouldn't give me any trouble!! OH YEAH, I'M BAD!!! And if that wasn't enough for ya' try this! I even defeated Mario!! After that I lifted Peach's Castle so HIGH into the sky we're floating above the clouds now!! HAHAHAHA!!! Talk about an improvement!! Anyways, now that that's done, I actually got to enjoy dinner today, despite my kids being as annoying as they usually are! Well, at least the worst of them are playing around at Wendy's new castle._

(End Entry.)

* * *

Twink and Peach went wide eyed, realizing whose diary this was. "PEACH, This is BOWSER'S DIARY!!! YUCK!!!"

Peach was disgusted at this aspect. "Right now, I'm starting to get thankful that we haven't found his more 'PRIVATE THOUGHTS'…" She shuddered, not even wanting to think about how out of control that little turn would take. "We might as well keep reading and hope for the best…" She looked at a few entries and found the one that he must've written earlier today. "Hopefully this one will give us some info…"

Peach and Twink took a careful look at the entry.

* * *

(Bowser's Diary.)

_Month: April, Day: 19_

_Well I'm officially ticked off now! The Koopa Bros lost to Mario and his friends, and rescued their first Star Spirit. GRRR! If I EVER catch those morons in my castle again..!! Grr, better calm down, else I pop a blood vessel. But despite Mario finding this Star Spirit, I'm not worried. Wanna' know why? Because, the next Star Spirit is hidden in the Dry Dry Ruins in middle of Dry Dry Dessert. The Ruins are so well hidden in that dessert that there's no way Mario could find it! I'm feeling so relaxed I think I'll go and take a nap now…_

(End Entry.)

* * *

Peach and Twink gasped at this. "DRY DRY RUINS IN THE MIDDLE OF DRY DRY DESERT?!?" Peach said almost in a shout.

Twink looked equally distraught. "One of the Honorable Star Spirits is being held there?!? Oh my!!"

Peach turned to Twink. "Twink, here's my next wish; I want you to go to Mario and tell him what we've just read! Can you do it?"

Twink nodded, "Of course! I'll go right now!!!" The sound of a doorknob turning caught both Twink and Peach's attention. Both of them jumped and turned to the door.

Both Peach and Twink could only gulp as the door opened. Twink quickly hid behind Peach as the door opened. Standing on the other side of the door was Bowser himself, looking somewhat annoyed. "I can't believe I left my diary out… I swear to the lord almighty that if anyone read that thing…" He turned around from looking at something just out of view from the door, and stopped mid-sentence when he saw Peach. His eyes were now wider then Peach had ever seen them before, also there was a very big blush on his face. His eye developed an unhealthy looking twitch after a second, and his entire face turned red with embarrassment and rage.

* * *

The view now shows the room where Blaine and James' Bandit Troupe was still working on the quiz show set. Blaine and Goombalina was moving another cardboard quiz show prop to the platform, while James was working on the lighting system some more. Steve, who was finally cured of the remaining electricity from his earlier shock, was now flying on his broom and was working on a few Christmas lights to make the scene look a bit more festive. Betty Boo was working on her introduction and was sprucing herself up.

… … … … … …

"_**WHAT THE HELL IS PEACH DOING OUTSIDE OF HER ROOM?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! HEADS ARE GOING TO ROLL FOR THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**_Came a voice that was so loud, it caused the entire castle to shake. The sudden noise was so startling, James fell off his ladder, Steve's broom went topsy turvy and bucked him off, Blaine and Goombalina jumped, causing their cardboard prop to be thrown upwards and fall back down on their heads hard, and Betty Boo messed up on her makeup, causing the lipstick to miss her lips and go up her cheek.

Blaine and Goombalina saw stars for a second, before shaking it off. James rubbed the now forming bump on his head. Steve slowly got back up and pushed his back, causing it to crick back into its usual position. And Betty? Well… Furious didn't even BEGIN to describe how mad she was about Bowser's interruption. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

* * *

The group ran up to the second floor foyer. As soon as they got there, they saw Bowser was throwing one heck of a tantrum. Peach was standing by his side, head bowed down to hide her face. Many of the Koopa soldiers had expressions of great fear on their faces… Kammy being one of them. "Now, now. Calm down Bowser. Mind your blood pressure…" She was now standing in front of Bowser trying to calm him down.

She might as well have been trying to calm down a hungry and infuriated dragon. **"CALM DOWN???!!!!!????!???!!??!! HOW CAN I CALM DOWN WHEN PEACH SOMEHOW GOT OUT OF HER ROOM, GOT IN **_**MINE**_**, AND READ MY DIARY???!!!???!???!!!???!!!???"**

Blaine and the bandit troupe gulped a little. They knew that when he was on a tirade, their was no stopping him. "GOT OUT OF HER ROOM?!?!?" Kammy repeated, gulping afterwards.

Bowser didn't let that stopped him. **"THERE SHOULD BE CONSEQUENCES FOR THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **_**SOMEONE **_**WAS GUARDING HER DOOR, AND FOR FAILING, THAT SOMEONE SHOULD FACE THE MUSIC...! THE MUSIC THAT PLAYS IN MY FREAKING DUNGEON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

Kammy, although she found Bowser's temper tantrum a bit much, turned to the Koopa soldiers in front of her, a frown forming on her face. "Okay then… Who here, guards Peach's door?" Blaine gulped a little, knowing that the job was his. When no-one stepped forward, Kammy started to tap her foot impatiently. "IF THE SOLDIERS WHO TAKES SHIFTS IN GUARDING PEACH'S DOOR, **DOESN'T **STEP FORWARD IN THE NEXT **TEN SECONDS**… **SEVERE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE PASSED OUT TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"** The koopa soldiers looked at each other now afraid of what would happen in the next ten seconds. "ONE!" Blaine shivered a little. "TWO!"

Blaine tried to take a step forward, but James stopped him. "ARE YOU CRAZY?!?" He whispered harshly. ("THREE!" Kammy continued in the background.) "YOU STEP FORWARD, AND YOU'LL NOT ONLY SPEND A LONG TIME IN THE DUNGEON… MAN, OH MAN, WITH HOW TICKED OFF BOWSER IS, HE'LL ALSO BEAT YOU TILL YOUR BLACK AND BLUE!!!" He finished. ("FOUR!" Came Kammy's voice again.)

Blaine lowered his head. "Yeah, I know… But if someone doesn't become the scapegoat here…" ("FIVE!") "Then I have a feeling we're ALL going to be in Bowser's next punching bag!" Blaine whispered back.

James slapped his forehead. "Well at least, wait it out!" Blaine stared at him confused. ("SIX!") "If no-one walks forward when the count reaches nine, you do what you have to do…"

Blaine nodded, the idea sounded good enough. "SEVEN!!" Kammy said. No koopa walked forward. "EIGHT!" The Koopa's started to sweat nervously. **"NINE!!"** Blaine gulped a little, well, it was time to face the music. **"TE-"**

"WAIT!!!!" Came a voice suddenly. Kammy turned to the voice, the koopas parted like the Red Sea, bringing Blaine into view. "It's my job to guard Peach's door." James and his bandit troupe took three cautious steps away from Blaine… They knew he had just sealed his fate…

Bowser growled angrily and stomped forward. "YOU LITTLE..!!!!"

"Wait a minute!!!" Came another voice. Blaine and everyone looked to see Steve stepping forward. "Don't guards take shifts? Cause Blaine was on his break, when Peach escaped."

Kammy considered that. "My son's right, someone hand me the guard schedule." A koopatrol walked up and gave Kammy what she asked for. "Good…" The koopatrol tried walking to another room. "BACK IN LINE…" The Koopatrol gulped and got back with the others. "Hmm, let's see here… Name… YOU THERE!!" Blaine jumped at that. "What is your name?"

Blaine gulped a little, "B-B-Blaine Mallet Zalles…"

Kammy nodded. "Blaine… Okay then… (Incoherent mumblings.) Ah, here's Blaine, (More incoherent mumblings.) And the soldier that's going to face the music is…" The koopa's started to sweat. Kammy smiled, recognizing the name. "Silver…"

It was quiet for a second… Blaine slowly turned around to face someone. The 'someone in question' was the same Koopatrol that gave Kammy the shift schedule, and tried to sneak off. His face had turned as white as a sheet as Kammy turned to face him. She knew that he was the koopa since she noticed that every eye had traveled to him. "Do you have anything to say for yourself Silver?"

The Koopatrol known as Silver gulped. "I swear! I don't know how she got out!! She never came out my door!!"

Kammy frowned. "A likely story…" She took a small look at the schedule again. "It would seem you already have two strikes against you." She gave him a stern look. "You remember what happens when someone gets three strikes against them do you?" The koopa gulped. It was quite obvious that he remembered all right. "Guards, seize him."

Nearby Koopatrols took Silver by the arms. "Wait please!"

"Silver." Kammy started with an angry frown. "From here on you are demoted from palace guard to…" She thought about it for a second. "Janitorial duty."

Silver looked flabbergasted at this. "WAIT NO!!!!" He had good reason to be afraid, if Bowser's Koopa kids were to ever visit, they'd make his life, absolutely, undeniably, MISERABLE! "Wait please! HAVE MERCY!!!"

Kammy turned around. "Take him away, and prep him for his new duties." And that's what the koopas did… They slowly started to drag Silver away.

"No wait, please!! It was a misunderstanding!! I don't know how she got out; it's not what you think I swear!!!" It didn't matter how much he begged nothing could change Kammy's mind. With a slam of the door, Silver was gone.

Kammy turned to the other koopas. "WELL?!? WHAT ARE YOU ALL STANDING AROUND FOR?!? BACK TO YOUR POSTS!!!" The Koopas did as such, not waiting for a second invite. "And you two…" She pointed at Blaine and a random Koopatrol. "Take Peach back to her room!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Both Blaine and the Koopatrol answered. They walked up to Peach and, instead of gently handling her, they picked up Peach, the Koopatrol holding her around her feet area, while Blaine held her up around her head and upper back area.

"What the!?!? Let me go!!!" She shouted not expecting to be handled in such a way. Blaine and the Koopatrol carried her back to her room. "HELP ME!!!"

* * *

Peach's bedroom door opened and the koopas walked in, carrying Peach. With a single movement they THREW Peach back into her room. They both walked out knowing that the chore was done, and closed the door as they walked out. Poor Peach got back up and dusted herself off. She lowered her head shamefully. Sure, she knew what she did was good, but she couldn't help but see the sight of that soldier's terrified look when he had been demoted. She sighed a little. After a second, Twink reappeared from behind Peach after doing his best to hide from the koopas. "You okay, Peach?"

Peach dusted off her dress a bit more. "Yeah I'm fine." She walked to the glass door to the balcony, and opened it. "Quickly get to Mario and tell him what we found out! Before those koopas come in here!"

Twink nodded. "Of course Peach! I'll be sure to give him the info!" Twink quickly flew out the door, and was off to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Peach, meanwhile went to the bed and sat on it, lowering her head slightly.

* * *

Meanwhile outside, Blaine Mallet Zalles was talking to the Koopatrol that had helped him carry Peach to her room. "Don't you think we were a little rough?"

The Koopatrol shrugged. "Hey it was Kammy's orders to seize her."

"BLAINE MALLET ZALLES!!!"

The Koopatrol looked to see Kammy approaching. "And speaking of Kammy…" He in a cartoony fashion, swung his arms back, and as he swung them forward again, he was gone in a flash, by running.

Blaine gulped. "Y-Yes ma'am?"

Kammy crossed her arms angrily. "Well, due to the fact that we lost a soldier you're going to have pull some more of your weight."

Blaine's eyes widened. "Do you mean to tell me that I have to pull double shifts?"

Kammy nodded. "Afraid so, Blaine… at least until we can find a decent replacement to Silver." She turned around. "So get to it, just in case she tries to sneak out again. Your next break will begin at 7 P.M. Today."

Blaine looked at his watch and saw that it was now 2:45 P.M. Seeing this he nodded and sighed. "Yes Ma'am…"

Kammy, knowing that this was done, walked away. Possibly to go deal with the still ticked King Bowser. Blaine walked up to Peach's door and sat down on the side of it. He sighed a little. "This is going to be a LOOONG day…"

Suddenly he heard a sniffle from inside. He slowly turned to the door. Now curious, Blaine slowly opened the door a hair and looked inside. Peach was now crying slightly, now seeming sad. Blaine looked at her sadly, and sighed. He slowly looked around to see if anyone was looking. He got up and, surprisingly, entered the room. While inside he looked around but didn't try going any further then a few feet from the door. "(Clears throat.) Princess… Peach?"

Princess Peach lifted her head at this sudden noise. She turned to the door to see the very same Hammer Bros Koopa that had taken her to back to her own room. "What are you doing here?" She asked with a voice full of scorn. "I'm guessing Bowser sent you in here as a messenger."

Blaine bashfully scratched his head. "Actually, I'm here on my own time…" Peach's eyes opened wide at that. She slowly turned to the Koopa. "Look, I'm going to be the one guarding your bedroom door for a while, so I figured I'd try to start off with a nice clean slate…"

Seeing that this koopa meant no harm, which was a surprise in and of itself, she gave him a confused look, "Okay then… Why are you in here?"

Blaine lowered his head. "Look, what's it gonna take to stop the waterworks?" Peach looked at him with an annoyed face.

"If you let me out of here and return to my kingdom!" Peach said, not hoping in the least for this koopa to comply with the request.

It was just as she thought… Blaine sighed a little. "Well, I can't do that…" Peach groaned, knowing that was going to happen. "But for all that it's worth… I'm sorry for handling you so roughly… We should've just escorted you to your room, and not do what we did…" Peach, since her head was turned away, slowly turned back, a look of surprise on her face. "I hope you'll forgive me for my rudeness, but it's how we were trained, if we did it any other way…" He chuckled slightly. "We can, sometimes, kiss our posts and most often times, honor goodbye."

Peach, after hearing that and remembering what happened to that Silver character, couldn't help but stare at Blaine. "Well, having said that, I better get back to my post… Else Kammy or, worse yet, Bowser notices I'm gone and yells at me." He started to walk off…

"How can you work for them? They always degrade you or your fellow workers, even when you all do nothing wrong…"

Blaine stopped DEAD in his tracks… He slowly turned around and looked at Peach. His eyes were wide, and he seemed confused. "Well – I… Uh… I gotta run…" He rushed out closing the door behind him. Peach couldn't help but look at where Blaine disappeared to, now extremely confused.

"What was that about?" Peach asked confused.

Blaine was now outside of Peach's room, and was sitting beside the door. Right now, millions upon millions upon millions upon millions of thoughts. 'Why DO I work for them?' 'Why am I here?' 'Why does Bowser and Kammy have to be ones to give orders, while we can't make a single suggestion?'

Blaine hit himself in the head to clear out the thoughts. "What am I thinking? Such thoughts are considered treasonous…" He stopped hitting himself, and lowered his head. "I don't understand, why am I thinking this..? Where'd it come from?"

Blaine continued to ponder such thoughts as the day progressed…

* * *

Me: And after a very long wait, we have LotSR (Legend of the Star Rod) chapter 12, 'Start of a Struggle'!

Ace: Aw, poor Blaine…

Otto: So, a simple soldier starts to have doubts about his true place… (Chuckles.) This is going to get interesting quite quickly.

Wally: Whoa..! Bowser almost popped a blood vessel back there! He kinda reminds me of Otto somehow… (Gets hit in the back of the head by Otto.) OWW! What was that for???

Me: COOL IT!! BOTH OF YOU!!! (Otto and Wally calm down.) Anyways, after I move into my new authors booth, I'll be sure to work on the next update! (Turns to the screen and gives a peace sign.) R&R people!!

Wally and Ace: Until next update!


	14. IT'S What's their names again?

Me: Well, home sweet home!

(Wally puts a welcome mat on the front porch. Otto stares at it, and fires a small bolt of energy at it, etching the words 'TO LEAVE' underneath 'Welcome'.)

Wally: OTTO!!! We want to make people feel welcome, not freak them out!

Otto: It was a joke! (Chuckles.) Honestly.

Ace: (Groans and slaps her forehead.) Those two are like cats and dogs, they almost never get along.

Me: They are polar opposites after all… (Turns back to the screen.) So anyways, we now have chapter 13 of LotSR, 'IT'S – What's his name again?' In this chapter, Mario is given his first Star Spirit Power, but soon has a rematch with everyones favorite neighborhood bully, Jr. Troopa! So you can expect more Jr. Troopa burning during this chapter! We also have the very first Dojo fight, as Zane squares off against Chan. ENJOY!!!

* * *

Chapter 13

IT'S - What's their names again?

* * *

The view opens up outside Koopa Bros Fortress front lawn. Mario, Zane, Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette were now standing before the Star Spirit Eldstar, who was taking this time to take a couple of deep cleansing breaths. Although he was a star, he still needed to take this moment to relish in his freedom. He was somewhat old, after all. "Ah, fresh air… So good to finally be free." 

Bombette walked up and took a deep breath herself. "Tell me about it." She said, acting as though she was finally at peace.

Eldstar looked down, and, after figuring she was trapped in the fortress herself, chortled slightly. He turned to Mario. "Mario, I think you and your friends for freeing me."

Mario blushed a little. "Hey, it was-a all in a day's work."

Eldstar smiled with a squint. "Anyways, I have a gift to give to you Mario. As thanks for helping me." Eldstar lifted up the points that would've been considered arms, if he was human, and Mario was graced by a grand looking light. After the light circled him, it gave one last flash, as if telling everyone it was done. "What I have given you is a small portion of my power. It gives you a new ability."

Zane became interested immediately. "A new ability? What does it do?"

Eldstar smiled at his curiosity. "It is called 'Refresh'. When used, it will restore a bit of everyone's health and magic." He turned to Mario. "Go ahead Mario, give it a try. All you have to do is wish for it."

Mario nodded. "Okay!" He reached deep within himself, and put his hands together as if he was praying. "Refresh!" A small bit of light exited from him…

All of a sudden, Eldstar went poof from where he was and reappeared right next to the group of heroes. He gave them a reassuring wink, and started to fly in circles around them. Lights poofed near random places of the hero's person, and Eldstar flew upward after a few more lights appeared, seemingly exiting to Star Haven.

Kooper looked at himself after the show was over. It was only when Goombario said, "WHOA!! Kooper! Check out your shell!!" that he realized what happened. Earlier in the fight with the Koopa Bros, Black had managed to slam his shell into Kooper's, making a rather noticeable scuff that reached his shoulder area. Yet now, when he looked… He saw that the scuff was gone. "The bruised area on your shell! It's gone!!" Goombario finished.

Kooper saw it himself. "Wow… Ain't that something?" Kooper asked, feeling that area of the shell himself, and felt no rough indent of a hit.

Zane looked at himself for a second and realized that the small cut that he got on his arm when he went rocketing through the tree's during the fight was gone too; completely healed. "Now THAT… Is something else!"

Eldstar once again appeared with a poof before the heroes. "Yes, Refresh sometimes also heals small bruises and cuts, as well as restore your health." He looked to Mario, who was looking at himself as well, checking for whatever small bruises or cuts he might have sustained in his past adventures. "I hope that ability will be of use to you Mario."

Upon seeing a few the indents of his past adventures gone, Mario turned to Eldstar and nodded. "Yes. We'll-a make good use of it."

Eldstar nodded at that. "However, there's a cost…" Mario stared at him confused. "By being given this ability, you are given a new energy that you must look after. It is called Star Energy. You've used all the Star Energy you have so far, but make no mistake, it will refill in due time…" He looked up to the stars. "The process can speed up slightly, if you make a wish to the stars… Do you understand?" Mario nodded. "Well then, I suppose now that I'm free of Bowser's spell I better retreat to Star Haven and start resting up…" He said, looking ready to leave… Before a thought suddenly struck him. "OH! I almost forgot!" He turned to Zane. "I have something for you too Zane." He raised his arm-like points again, and a small light poofed into existence. A small object appeared out of the light and fell landing in Zane's open hand. Once the light died down a little, Zane looked to see what it was… He started to get confused when he saw it was a small Dark blue gem shard, no bigger then his index finger, and no thicker then his pinkie.

Zane stared at Eldstar confused. "I don't get it… What is this?"

Eldstar chortled, obviously seeing this coming. "It may not look like much now, but this little gem is very special." He floated down to Zane. "However, it is incomplete." Zane was now even more confused then ever. "You see boy, each Star Spirit carries a piece of this gem. Apart they are nothing, but together… It becomes a great gift." Mario and friends stared at Eldstar questionably. "Actually it will give you three gifts… In order to receive the first gift you must free two more Star Spirits, they will give you the gem shards upon being freed."

Zane nodded ecstatically. "WOW!!! A gift straight from the Star Spirits!?! SO COOL!!!"

Eldstar nodded. "Yes, it is very cool." His face turned stern all of a sudden. "All I ask is that you never lose it… Keep it some place safe." Zane was now giving Eldstar a look of concern. What would be wrong about losing it?

He nodded regardless. "Okay… hold on, I'll find it a nice safe place." Having said that, Zane pulled his backpack off his shoulders and opened it. After removing a few items he had picked up at Toad Town Store, he found what looked like a small box. He slowly opened the box and found it empty, with a white cushion thing inside.

There was a note inside it.

* * *

_I thought you would find something small and fragile on your quest, so I give you this box to hold it in._

_I hope I've been of assistance!_

_Goompa_

* * *

"Good old Goompa! Always thinking ahead!" Goombario chuckled. 

Zane took the small gem fragment and placed it inside the box, closing it afterwards. He put the box in the box's front pocket and, after packing all of his items back up again, closed up the bag completely, putting it back on his shoulders right after that. "You can count on me to look after that gem! And I'll be sure to get the others!"

Eldstar nodded thankfully. "Thank you young man." He floated backwards a few inches. "I pray that you save the next Star Spirits, heroes!! We are counting on you all!" A magical looking energy appeared below Eldstar, and before the heroes knew it, Eldstar started an accent to Star Haven. He was gone in but a few minutes.

Bombette walked forward to the place where Eldstar was floating seconds earlier. "So that was a Star Spirit… He sure was a nice old guy." She turned to the others and smiled a little. "So! What do you guys say we get moving? I'm ready for the next adventure!" the other heroes smiled, knowing Bombette was already enjoying the full extent of her freedom, and acceptance into their little group.

The group was off after that. As they went, they couldn't help but notice the natural beauty around them. Without Bowser's troops there, Koopa Path was so peaceful… So beautiful… Zane was so caught up with the sights, that he didn't even realize his friends were having a conversation. "So, where do you think we can find the next Star Spirit?" Kooper asked curiously.

Goombario thought about it. "Good question… We could ask Merlon where we need to go, but I'm not sure I could take another story. I mean sure I can listen to my Goompa go on, but Merlon just goes on… And on… And on…"

Mario decided to be realistic. "We may have no choice. Asking Merlon, helped us find the Star Spirit here in Koopa Path. Asking him again could point us in the right direction."

Zane was paying no heed to this conversation. He just continued to look around at Koopa Path. Right about now, they were passing the fork in the road, where one path lead to Koopa Village, while the other would lead to Toad Town. The group took the Toad Town road and found themselves walking down the path that was right next to a babbling brook. As Mario and friends walked, Zane couldn't help but stop. He saw another one of those curious looking yellow gems he had been collecting. As Mario and friends continued on, they were unaware that Zane broke away from the group to collect the gem.

Once the toad had walked up to the gem, Zane took a closer look at it, and reached to take it… Someone else's hand appeared as well, and Zane's hand and the new one touched. Zane, with his arm and hand frozen on the spot, looked up to see who the new character was. He saw a pair of Neon yellow eyes staring at him from a dark hood, with ocean blue hair poking through the back, right in front of him. Zane's eyes widened at the new visitor. The Neon Yellow eyes widened as well. Zane took a better look at this visitor; from where he was sitting, he could see this stranger was wearing a cloak almost similar to what Merlon wore, he could almost see some feminine details, thus making him theorize that this person was female, he couldn't see her face, save for her glowing neon yellow eyes… It was right then that Zane could've almost sworn he saw a blush coming from this strange visitor. He blushed himself, not sure what to think.

"ZANE!!!"

This alone made him pull his arm back from the mysterious girls hand and turn his gaze away from her. He looked behind him to see his friends were now a good distance away, just now noticing that he was gone. Zane figured that if they saw him they'd be unable to see this strange female. Zane's mind popped back into attention; and speaking of mysterious female… He turned back to the visitor… Only to find she was gone. Zane looked around a little bit. "Whoa! Where'd she go?" When he looked down, he almost balked when he saw that the strange yellow gem he was just about to pick up was accompanied by one other; and Zane distinctly remembered that there was only one.

"ZANE COME ON!!!" Came a voice; he recognized it as Bombette's voice and she was sounding impatient. Zane looked for that strange girl a second more then collected the gems, storing them in his bag. With a start, he broke into a run to catch up with the others. As he did, his mind traveled to that rather weird moment with that strange girl.

Which brought up this thought in Zane's mind; was she even there to begin with? Did his mind just make up the whole thing? He took a look at his hand, the hand that touched that strange female. Her hand felt so soft, so fragile… Somehow… Zane knew there was no way in Hell he imagined that.

When he finally caught up to the others, it was as the toad expected. "What held you up?" Kooper asked curiously.

Zane just shook his head. "Sorry guys, I thought I saw a useful power-up item back there, but I guess I was mistaken."

They seemed to accept this, and the heroes were off again…

Some distance away from them, the very same figure that Zane had seen was sitting behind a bush… And to be frank, the poor girl was BLUSHING LIKE MAD. Meriee couldn't believe the meeting she had with that toad. Thoughts she had never experienced before in her life came to her mind, and the girl was staring at the hand that had touched Zane's hand. 'His hand…' Meriee thought, thinking solely of Zane's hand. She blushed even more turning her whole face red… She shook off those thoughts in a hurry. "Stop thinking such things!" She looked at the path ahead, and saw Zane getting away. She blushed bashfully some more, but started to chase after him.

As the group walked, Zane stretched a little and put his hands behind his head. "Man, if there was one thing I needed right now, I'd say it was some sleep."

Goombario stretched a little himself. "No arguments there."

Mario took a quick look at his watch and saw that it was around 6 pm. "I'd like to-a stop and-a rest as much as-a you guys, but we have to find-a out where the-a next Star Spirit is."

The others nodded, knowing this was true. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, MARIO!!!!!" Everyone jumped at that sudden outburst. They turned to some bushes next to them to see nothing at first… That is until a familiar figure suddenly jumped into view. Zane and Mario recognized the figure immediately. "I KNEW I'D FIND YOU HERE IF I WAITED LONG ENOUGH!!!!" He chuckled evilly. "I told you I'd be back!!! NOW I'LL GET MY REVENGE!!!" The little koopa ran out of bushes at Zane and Mario, trying, as it looked like, to tackle them…

Mario and Zane however, sidestepped the charge. Jr. Troopa couldn't put on the brakes fast enough and he lost his balance, causing him to fall off the overhanging just behind them, and into the river. "GWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 'SPLAAAAAAAAAAASH!!!!'

Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette could only stare at the hopeless sight, absolutely confused… A sopping wet hand reached back over the overhanging and Jr. Troopa pulled himself back up, sopping wet himself. Once he took a second to catch his breath, he ran on the path in front of the heroes, and pointed at them angrily. "I've got you now! AND I can PROMISE you that this fight will be much different then before!!!"

Zane knew that somehow, Jr. Troopa meant what he said when he said he'd be back. But still running into him now was a surprise, a rather humorous surprise cause of Jr. Troopa's dip in the river, but a surprise none the less. "This kid… Wants to challenge you, Mario? He's kidding right?" Came Bombette, now more confused then ever, though she was enjoying the thought that this little punk was even thinking he could take Mario.

Goombario took a closer look at the koopa, thinking he looked slightly familiar. Kooper agreed with what Bombette said. "I agree with Bombette, how could any koopa, regardless of size, even think taking on Mario?" Goombario looked like he was about to say something, but Zane stopped him and gave the kid a wink, letting him know that he would handle this.

"SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Jr. Troopa said with a shout. He turned to Mario and Zane, whom had walked up. "YOU two, Mario and 'What's your face'!! You should know who I am!!!!"

Mario almost visibly winced at that. He just knew Zane was going to do something about that… Zane walked up and appraised the koopa. "Hmm… A tiny little koopa, wearing his egg shell like a diaper…" Jr. Troopa started to steam at that. "Acts worse than one of those bratty bastards that Bowser calls his kids…" Jr. Troopa started to turn red as his temper skyrocketed, while everyone started to chuckle. "Is more persistent, die-hard, and thickheaded then a cockroach…" Like last time, Steam started to jet out of his nose and ears, like an overheating machine. "Nope, sorry doesn't sound familiar."

"**GRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

Zane started laughing at Jr. Troopa's response. "YOU DO TO REMEMBER!!!!!!!! THE NAME IS JR. TROOPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He steamed a bit more. "AND AFTER THIS BEATING I'LL MAKE SURE IT'S A NAME YOU ALL WILL **REMEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**"

* * *

_**(Jr. Troopa's battle theme plays in the background.)**_

* * *

The heroes got into battle position just as Jr. Troopa continued on his tantrum for a second, before finally calming down. "Don't think I'll be so easy after our last fight! I've improved and even learned a new skill during our time apart!" He said pointing at Mario to make himself look serious. "MORE POWER!!!" He shuffled his feet a little bit… Mario and the others prepared themselves for whatever trick Jr. Troopa had up his sleeve… He suddenly pulled into his egg shell and used the part of the egg shell he wore as a hat to close it up, making it look like a whole egg with a small crack going across it, near the top. He just sat there a little bit. "HA!!!! DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING DID YA?!? NOW YOU CAN'T EVEN TOUCH ME NOW!!!" 

It was silent for a second…

"**HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

Jr. Troopa popped out of the shell and started to steam up. **"WHAT'S SO FRIGGIN FUNNY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"**

Zane was the one who answered. "AFTER ALL THE TIME YOU COULDA SPENT TRAINING, **THAT'S** THE BEST YOU CAN COME UP WITH?!?!?!?!?!?!? MAN!!!!! AND I THOUGHT I COULD BE UNORIGINAL AT TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He continued laughing.

Bombette answered as well. "AWWW!!! You looked so cute tucked into your eggshell like thaaa- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She said but couldn't finish as her laughing cut her off.

Jr. Troopa started to really get pissed. **"SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DO NOT LOOK CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"** He pulled into his eggshell again and charged, slamming Bombette in anger.

Bombette was surprised by the force of hit and flinched. "OWW!!!" Jr. Troopa pulled back quickly.

"SEE?!?!? THERE'S **NOTHING** CUTE ABOUT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Jr. Troopa shouted before tucking himself back into his eggshell.

Goombario took a look at the place where Bombette was hit. "It seems that eggshell of Jr. Troopa's is a lot tougher then it looks." He pulled back, "We better be careful."

Zane cracked his knuckles, "CAREFUL, SHMAREFUL!!! It's about time I showed this punk what happens when you mess with the best!!!" The Toad charged forward and threw a punch at Jr. Troopa.

'POOOW!!!'

"YEEOOOWWWW!!!" Zane said, pulling back examining his hand which was slightly red. 'Goombario wasn't kidding!! That shell IS tougher then it looks!'

Mario suddenly charged forward, and slammed his hammer into Jr. Troopa's hard shell. It seemed to do a bit of damage. "OWW!!!" Jr. Troopa pulled out and was swaying a little from the hit. "Who knew Mario had such battle skills?" He shook himself out of his daze. "GRRR!!! I'm just getting warmed up!!" He pulled back into his shell upon saying that.

Zane seeing his punches were no good, went in for a kick. He lashed out a powerful 'Triple Kick' which hit Jr. Troopa, hook line sinker, and sending the little eggshell flying. To help with this, Bombette lit her fuse. "Zane, give me a boost!!" Zane complied by grabbing Bombette.

"ALLEY OOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Zane shouted with a grunt, sending Bombette flying right after Jr. Troopa. Jr. Troopa who was still flying, pulled out of his shell to see what was going on… Only to see Bombette fast approaching, fuse lit.

"OHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" 'BBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

Jr. Troopa went sailing to the ground and hit it hard. When the dust settled, it revealed that Jr. Troopa just barely retreated into his shell before Bombette went off. The shell took a lot of damage regardless. "MAN, THAT STUNG!!!" Jr. Troopa said inside his shell.

He didn't have any time to move before Kooper slammed into his shell, sending it flying again. As the shell went flying, Mario and Zane appeared in front of Jr. Troopa's flight path. When Jr. Troopa came his closest, Mario hammered him away like a baseball. Instead of being sent flying, he landed on the ground, got back on his feet and charged Mario. Mario was hit by the attack, while Zane dodged. The toad looked at Jr. Troopa and growled. 'That koopa's starting to become a real 'pain in the neck.' Zane thought as Jr. Troopa continued his attack. The other heroes were putting up a good fight, and he had a good feeling they could take him, but they would need his help. His thoughts raced, 'My punches are a no go as they'd just hurt my hand… Triple Kick could work, but I can't use the same move over and over, Jr. Troopa would expect it.'

Suddenly his thoughts immediately turned to the 'Charge badge' pinned to his jacket. He smiled a little. "Increasing my attack power huh?" He looked at Jr. Troopa, and began focusing his energy…

Jr. Troopa, meanwhile, was actually faring quite well against the heroes. His defense was quite surprising with his eggshell. Bombette blasted away at Jr. Troopa when she got the chance. It damaged Jr. Troopa, but he kept right on going and plowed through her. Goombario stood back, from the battle. His head may have been as hard as a rock, but he knew with how speedy Jr. Troopa was, along with his hard shell, trying to attack him would've been hard.

Kooper charged at Jr. Troopa, slamming his shell into the eggshell and leaving a dent in it. The little bully countered with a tough head butt. Mario countered this by swinging his hammer. It hit Jr. Troopa with a pretty good result. It sent him flying a little ways and he landed on the ground. Inside his shell, Jr. Troopa was panting heavily. Even WITH his defenses Mario was starting to pull ahead! "GRR… Mario IS NOT going to get ahead of me this time!!!"

"**HIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

Before Jr. Troopa knew what was happening, his feet suddenly left the ground after a ground sweeping kick knocked him into the air. Before he could right himself, he was grabbed by his bottom shell and the top of his hat. He peeked out to see that Zane was holding him… And he was glowing! "WHAT THE?!?!?"

Goombario saw this, "He must have used the Charge badge he picked up!! I recognize that energy from a book I read!"

Before Jr. Troopa could try and stop him, Zane suddenly lifted his knee… Before viciously cracking Jr. Troopa's eggshell against his knee. The attack power was powerful enough to cause Jr. Troopa to break out of his defensive position and cause a great amount of damage. "YEEEEOO-" He never had time to finish as Zane, still hyped up on the 'Charge Badge' power up energy, plowed his fist into Jr. Troopa's face. Mario winced because that hit looked like it hurt and he had no doubt that it would hurt even WITH the shell defending him.

Jr. Troopa went hurtling throughout the air, Mario dodged his flight and swung his hammer upward knocking the little guy into the air. Kooper flew through the air and slammed Jr. Troopa. Goombario and Bombette was riding on top of Kooper's shell tied to it once again. Goombario flew at Jr. Troopa and slammed him with a Headbonk, with Bombette pulling him in after the attack was finished. The next attack came from Bombette who jumped herself. She first collided into Jr. Troopa with a 'Body Slam' attack. Jr. Troopa had the wind knocked out of him, and when he looked up, he saw Bombette still in the air... Her fuse now lit...

"OHH..."

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jr. Troopa rocketed back to the ground. His decent was stopped by Zane, fist outstretched upward. It collided with his gut, causing the Koopa to lose a big breath of hot air. This was followed by Mario suddenly appearing, and swinging his hammer into the Koopa's body. The koopa went flying again, but landed with a skid back on the ground. His foot twitched but he didn't get back up.

Zane approached Jr. Troopa and saw that the poor creature was out cold. "Way too easy." He said with a smirk.

* * *

**_(The Jr. Troopa Battle theme stops, and the Paper Mario; The Thousand Year Door victory theme plays in the background.)_**

* * *

Jr. Troopa groaned in pain as he continued lying there. Zane shook his head pitifully. "Weird... I actually hoped he improved somehow during our time apart..." 

Kooper responded to this. "Not really surprising actually. I guess you would be hoping for a challenge, a warrior always does."

Zane nodded; Kooper had the point exactly. "Come on lets get going." Zane said, walking past Jr. Troopa.

Goombario took a look at Jr. Troopa. "Don't you think we should take care of Jr. Troopa? You know take him to a Toad House, or something?"

Zane took a look at Jr. Troopa, who was still groaning in pain. The toad rolled his eyes, not believing he was about to do this. He walked over to the koopa and put him in a piggy-back hold. "Fine, I'll take him to a Toad House..." He turned to Goombario, "Happy now?"

Goombario smiled nervously. He knew he was having Zane do the right thing, but still there was that little voice deep in his head that told him to drop Jr. Troopa and leave him.

Zane was clearly having the same debate... And that devil side of him was shouting louder then the angel side. About the only thing that kept him from dropping Jr. Troopa was the fact that what he was doing was right, and it would make him look like a jerk if he just dropped him now.

* * *

They continued walking until they arrived in Toad Town minutes later. Zane, not wanting to be around when Jr. Troopa woke up, quickly dropped him off at the Toad House. It wasn't easy talking the toad working there into looking after Jr. Troopa, (He knew his reputation and didn't want any trouble.) but Zane insisted that they do this chore, at least this once. The toad was hesitant at first but agreed. 

Zane walked out of Toad House, Jr. Troopa-less, thankfully. He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "It wasn't easy to talk the toad into doing it, but he agreed after a few rounds." He turned to his friends, who must've been waiting for him to come out. His gaze turned to Goombario particularly. "I can not believe you talked me into that... I hope you realize he's NOT going to be thankful in the least for it, regardless of what we did."

Goombario shrugged, "What? Jr. Troopa may be a creep, but it was the right thing to do, anyways."

Kooper nodded in agreement. "He is right, you know."

Mario nodded. Even if Bombette voted that Jr. Troopa was better off left behind, he still would've lost this argument. "Fine, it was the right thing to do... But that doesn't mean I needed to like it. Let's leave it at that, shall we?" The others nodded, guessing that was about as close as they were going to get without pushing Zane's nerve.

**"MAAARIOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

The group jumped at the sudden noise. They looked up, since the voice sounded like it came from the sky. They found themselves right about their assumption when they saw a familiar sight flying towards them. Goombario, Zane, and Mario smiled, recognizing their new visitor as Twink, flying down from Bowser's castle. He flew in front of the group giving them a big smile. "Me and Peach heard that you managed to free the first Star Spirit! I thank you so much for it!"

Mario took the praise in with stride. "Please, it was-a nothing."

Twink shook his head, which was more like his whole body, "Oh but it was something! Thanks to you, we've taken our first step towards beating Bowser!" He chuckled giddily... Before he took on a look of excitement. "Oh by the way, I know where the next Star Spirit is!!!"

The heroes stared at him surprised. "You do?!?" Kooper asked excited.

Twink nodded. "YEAH!! You see Peach and I managed to sneak out of the room she was being held in, and find out where the next Star Spirit is."

Bombette chuckled. "Do we even WANT to know where you found the info?"

Twink took on an awkward look. "Not really... But that's not the point." He floated just a little closer. "Okay, the next Star Spirit is in Dry Dry Ruins, in the middle of Dry Dry Dessert."

The heroes gawked. "DRY DRY RUINS?!?!? IN DRY DRY DESSERT?!?!?!?" Goombario asked in a shout.

Twink nodded his face now panicky. "Yes I know! I couldn't believe that a Star Spirit could be hidden there myself." He floated backwards a little. "I hope you can save the next Star Spirit. We need to save them as soon as possible."

"Then it's-a settled." Mario said, walking forward. "Next Stop, Dry Dry Dessert."

Twink smiled. "Thanks, your the best!" He looked back into the sky. "Well, I should get going! Can't keep Peach waiting for too long!" He waved the point that could've been considered his hand. "See you later guys!" Twink then flew off. His destination, back to Boswer's castle.

Zane thought about what they had just heard. "Dry Dry Ruins, eh? That means we'll need to prepare for the desert."

Bombette looked more startled then the other heroes when she heard the Star Spirit was in Dry Dry Desert. "Yeah, I guess."

Kooper noticed that Bombette's tone was quite hesitant. "You okay Bombette?"

Bombette snapped out of her look and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine!" Kooper and the others stared at her confused, but shrugged.

Mario looked out to his friends. "So-a anyone, know a way to-a Dry Dry Dessert?"

Goombario was the one that answered. "There's a train in the South part of Toad Town that rides straight to Mt. Rugged. It's a mountain that sits alongside Dry Dry Dessert."

Zane smirked. "Mt. Rugged, eh? It's been a while since I been there."

Mario looked back to Zane. "You know it Zane?"

Zane nodded. "Me, my dad, the master you know, as well as Lee and Chan, used to go to Mt. Rugged to train. And to rock climb for a bit of training as well."

Bombette looked at Zane. "Master? Wait a minute, you live at the dojo?"

Zane nodded. "Yeah, anyways, we know the train will cost a bit of money, but I could get us on board easily with the Dojo Master's help."

Kooper smiled. "Well, what are we waiting for? Lets get going!"

* * *

The heroes, after making that decision, walked to the dojo and thankfully found it open. Zane explained the situation and what had happened on Koopa Path to the Dojo Master as Lee and Chan listened in. The Dojo Master nodded his head, understanding. He coughed slightly. "I see, so you need to go to Mt. Rugged do you?" 

Zane bowed respectively. "Yes sensei."

The master thought about this for a second. "Well you could take my 'Train Pass'. It's what allowed us to go to Mt. Rugged before, free of charge." The master pulled out a small ticket. Zane smiled and reached out about to take it. The Master pulled it back at the last minute. "But..."

Zane frowned confused. "But? But what?"

The Master shook his head. "I would like to test your abilities. If you win in a duel, you get to use my train pass. You lose... Well I'll think about it." He turned to Chan. "Chan you will be facing Zane this time."

Chan jumped at this. "Really?!? Me?!?"

Lee shook his head. "No, the other Chan that's in this building..." In a goofing fashion, he playfully slapped Chan upside the head. "OF COURSE YOU!"

Chan gave Lee a glare then smirked a little. He walked toward the arena in the center and prepared for a fight. Zane smirked, "You guys just stand back, I can handle this." Zane walked to the opposite end of the arena. He put up his dukes and prepared himself for a fight.

Chan prepped himself. "Okay Zane! Time for you to get lessons from 'Chan the Man'!"

* * *

**_(The Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Mid-Boss theme plays in the background.)_**

* * *

Chan pulled into his shell and shot forward. Zane dodged quickly, and grabbed Chan's shell. With a spin, Zane threw Chan to the other side of the dojo. He bounced off the wall, and shot back to Zane. The toad was ready for him however. As Chan came flying, Zane reeled his fist back and punched Chan as soon as he came close. 

Chan was sent flying back at the wall where he bounced off of it, and went flying back at Zane, who punched it again. It soon became a a big game of 'Tennis' as the shell ricocheted across the room, the shell bouncing on the wall and Zane's fist. It continued for a while, until Zane grabbed Chan's shell and slammed him on his back. "Ow! How dishonorable..."

Zane did a dance-like twirl, and swung his foot downward to hit Chan while he was down. Chan managed to right himself and dodged before the attack could connect. Chan launched forward and attacked Zane slamming him in the gut. Zane winced, as Chan bounced off him and went across the room, stopping after a seconds slide. "I gotcha' this time Zane! You can't beat me!" He pulled into his shell and launched forward.

Zane smirked as Chan came forward. The next few moments happened almost in slow motion. Zane ducked the attack, as Chan went flying by. Zane grabbed Chan's shell, and slammed his stomach against the floor. "YEEEEEEOOO-" He never had time to finish, when Zane threw him back in the air, and smirked.

**"SOMERSAULT SLASH!!!!!!!!!!!"** Zane followed this with a gigantic backflip kick which sliced through the air, and nailing Chan in the head. Chan went flying, backflipping like crazy and landing on his back, out cold. Zane backflipped a few times and landed back on his feet with the grace of a cat. He smirked a little. "I win!"

* * *

**_(Instead of the victory tune, the Mini-Boss theme plays a second more then fades out.)_**

* * *

As soon as Chan woke up, the Master walked up. "Enough, Zane is the victor." He turned to Chan. "Chan you have a lot of training to do if you wish to match Zane." 

Chan panted a little. "Dangit... Zane whooped me..." He turned to the toad and smirked. "I have to admit you learned a lot during our time apart. But I will train and get stronger, and I WILL beat you one day."

Zane nodded and gave a slight bow, letting Chan know he was honored by the match. Chan bowed his head, seeing as how that was the best he could do. Once this was finished, Chan walked back over to Lee, knowing he would have to expect training later. The master walked up to Zane. "You have gotten stronger, Zane." He reached into his pocket. "Here is the 'Train Pass' as promised." He pulled out the ticket and gave it to Zane. "Also, as is the tradition of the dojo, I give you this as well." He then pulled out a small card with the words 'First Degree' at the top. "It's proof of your victory against Chan here in the dojo." he smiled an old man smile. "I wish you luck on your quest."

Zane smiled "Thank you father." Zane bowed respectfully. The master bowed as well. Once raising himself back up he smiled slightly. "Well we should be going, Dry Dry Dessert's calling our name, and we need to answer that call."

The master smiled. "Of course, Zane." This was followed by a big coughing and wheezing fit. "Do your best son." He said with a smile.

* * *

The group left shortly after that. Zane made sure to put both of the cards in a safe place in his backpack. The heroes walked back through the east side of Toad Town and was now on their way to the Train Station. 

"HEY ZANE!!!!!! HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Zane and the others turned to the right. Right in that line of sight their was a small circular flower garden that looked like it was still developing. What was weird was the fact that there was a big wooden door right in the center of the flower garden. Running up to Zane was a female toad, that had a white hat with pink spots. She wore a short sleeved shirt with flowers imprinted on it, and an apron over it, her shoes were slip-on shoes that were red in color. Zane smiled in a neighborly fashion. "Ah, Minh T!" He said with a welcoming tone.

She stopped and caught her breath. "Heya Zane, It's been a while since you last came by. How are you?"

Zane nodded. "Well, I've been a bit busy. I'm guessing you read the bulletin board in front Merlon's house?"

Minh T. nodded. "Yeah it said Mario was able to save the Star Spirit that was being held captive by the Koopa Bros at their fortress. Not only that, but it said that a certain 'son of a dojo master' went along for the ride!" She elbowed Zane playfully, emphasizing that last sentence, and chuckled. "Yeah I read it, I couldn't believe that you lent a hand in saving the Star Spirit, let me tell you I was pretty surprised."

Zane chuckled, not missing a beat. "No kidding. Anyways, we're gonna be going to Dry Dry Dessert next, we heard that Bowser had hidden a Star Spirit in Dry Dry Ruins."

Minh T. looked surprised. "DRY DRY DESSERT??? Man, I'd cook like a hard-boiled egg if I went out there."

Bombette seemed to cringe at that thought. "Tell me about it." Zane said with a groan.

Goombario walked forward. "Zane, I didn't know that you knew Minh T. ."

Zane blushed slightly. "Oh sorry about that. Minh, this is Goombario, he's my travel companion." Zane said motioning to Goombario. He then motioned to the others. "Along with Kooper."

"Hey!" Kooper said with a grin.

"Bombette."

Bombette looked nervous for a second, but after taking a second to realize someone called her name, she turned to Minh and gave a small grin. "Uh, Pleasure meeting you."

"And I know, you should know Mario."

Mario tipped his hat a little. "Charmed really."

Minh smiled in a neighborly fashion. Zane put his arm around Minh. "And guys some of you should know Minh. She's the town gardener, and she has a real green thumb."

Mihn blushed a little. "Ah I'm not that great."

Zane responded immediately to this. "But you are Minh, nothings going to change that."

Mario stepped into this little conversation. "I'm sorry for-a interrupting, but how do you-a two know each-a other?"

Zane blushed a little. "Oh sorry guys. I've known Minh for quite a while. As some of you know, Kooper and Bombette are about to find out, I was found outside of Toad Town by the Dojo Master..."

He was interrupted by Bombette. "Wait a minute... FOUND?"

Kooper was the same way. "What do you mean by found? Where's your family?"

They ended up hearing the shortened version of Zane's shortened history. Which included how he was found by the Dojo Master and adopted into the dojo. "Zane... I'm so sorry." Bombette said every bit of concern she had."

"Yeah man... I never knew." Kooper said with the same tone as Bombette.

"Ah forget about it." Zane said with a neighborly smile. "Anyways inbetween training sessions with the master back in those times, I would wander around Toad Town. During one of those walks, I ran into Minh. We were best friends ever since."

Minh smiled slightly. "Yeah. Zane almost walked on the flowers, when he came by the garden I managed to stop him."

Zane blushed embarrassedly. "But anyways..." he turned to Minh. "What'd you want Minh? You sounded kinda urgent back there."

Minh blushed slightly. "OH!! I'm so birdbrained..." She turned back to her garden. "I would like you to do a favor for me while out there... Pretty please?" She said, giving Zane a small cute look.

"Like I was gonna say no?" Zane asked. "So, what do you need?"

Minh fiddled with her fingers. "Well, my garden is coming along really great. But I want to make it extra special this time." She approached the big wooden door in the center of the garden. "Have you heard of Bub-ulb's or Flower Fields?"

Zane looked at her confused. Goombario was the one who answered. "Flower Fields is one of the most beautiful natural landmarks in all of the Mushroom Kingdom. It's known as Flower Fields becuase it's a gigantic green paradise, with flowers of every kinds growing there. It's even said that that giant living, humaniod flowers live in Flower Fields. Likewise, the Bub-ulbs are creatures that are commonly found in places of natural beauty." He pulled out a book from his cap. Zane went wide-eyed that a book would be held there, but put it away after a second. "Here's a picture of one Riiiiiiight-" he turned through the pages until he finally stopped on one. "Here." He finished, motioning to a picture in the book.

The creature in the picture resembled a goomba almost, without the thick eyebrows. It had light green skin, little red feet, and a flower on top of it's head. Minh T. nodded. "Yeah that's a Bub-ulb."

Zane took a seat on the ground. "So what about all this?"

Minh T. looked at him flustered. "Well, you see Zane, I was hoping to get seeds from a Bub-ulb tends to carry." She knocked on the big wooden door. "You see, this big door can take anyone to Flower Fields... But as you can see, it's locked." She walked to the flowerless squares of dirt, it came in a sequence that consisted of concrete squares, regular flowers, and flowerless dirt squares. "However there's a rumor going around that if you plant Bub-ulb seeds around the door, then the door will open and Flower Fields can then be reachable." She smiled slightly. "I would really love to see Flower Fields someday. But the Bub-ulbs are so hard to find." She turned to Zane. "So, I figured that, IF you run into any Bub-ulbs during your little journey, you could pick up their seeds, and deliver them to me."

Zane smiled, "Well... I suppose I could keep my eyes open for them, and if they do have seeds... I guess I could pick them up for ya' and give them to you when I have the chance."

Minh squealed giddily. "THANKS ZANE!!! YOU'RE THE BEST!!!" She gave him a big hug, and immediately went back to tending the flowers. "I'll see ya some other time!" She said, waving at Zane.

Zane waved back a small smile on his face. Bombette smiled mischievously. "Ah I see what's going on here."

Zane stopped waving at that. He turned to Bombette. "Wha-what are you talking about?"

Bombette continued giving him the face. "You LIKE her, don't you?"

Zane's blush was so big, it covered his face and he looked like a tomato. "WHA?!?!? I-I-I don't know what your talking about!" He said, turning his face to try and hide his blush.

Minh, who had overheard the whole thing, chuckled a little at Zane's behavior.

The heroes left Minh's garden once things were cooled down between Zane and Bombette. They once again tried continuing onto the train station... "HEY, HEY, YOU GUYS!!!!" 

The heroes jumped at this sudden shout. They turned to their left where the voice was coming from to see a little doogan coming up to them. A doogan was a creature with dark brown skin, walked on two legs, and had two legs, so they were a something of a mixture between Goombas and toads. This little dogan was wearing a red jacket and had blue pants. "HEY!!!"

Kooper sized up the dogan. "What's up?"

The doogan child sized up the heroes. "Your travelers, aren't you?"

Mario nodded. "We are, what-a about it?"

The doogan suddenly took a giddy look. "YOUR PERFECT!!!" He turned back to the little center in front of him. "If your travelers, you'll be interested in me and my dads badge shop! We sell all kinds of badges, check it out!"

The heroes looked at each other but followed the doogan into the clearing. As they came to the clearing, a small wall slid out and opened revealing a fine choice of badges to choose from. There was a small stall at the end of the concrete clearing and the wall stopped at the stall. With a pop, another doogan appeared from behind the stall. This doogan appeared to be an older and taller version of the younger doogan. He smiled in a neighborly fashion. "Well now, look at this! We finally have our first customers!" The heroes walked up to the stall. "I hope you will forgive my son, he still has a lot of things to learn about the business world..."

Mario waved his hands dismissively. "Ah no-a problem. I guess he DID show us this badge shop, and I bet that you have some real useful badges for us to use."

The doogan smiled a little. "Well you've been brought to the right place. My name is Rowf, and this is my son Rhuff." He said, motioning to himself, and his son, Rhuff. "And I welcome all you buds to 'Rowf and Son's Badge Shop'!" He disappeared from behind the stall and  
walked out from it. He walked along the wall. "Here at 'Rowf and Son's Badge Shop' you can find badges of every shape, size, and contain different abilities." Rowf said with a proud smile.

As the heroes walked along, Bombette spotted a peculiar looking badge on display. It looked like a toad head surrounded by a fire. Bombette stared at it a little while. "Ah, this one has come to your attention has it not, bud?"

Rowf approached Bombette and took the badge from the display. "This is the 'Fire Shield badge'. It gives people a slight boost in fire and heat resistance. Very useful when walking through a very hot place and you want to stay just slightly cooler then you would be without it."

Kooper looked at Bombette confused. "Why would you be interested in this Bombette?"

Bombette lowered her head bashfully. "Well... I, uh..." She finished quickly. "Going to the dessert!"

Zane stared at Bombette confused. "Yeaaah... So?"

Goombario thought about that for a second, before his face brightened in an enlightened sense. "OH, I GET IT!!!" Goombario walked up to Bombette. "She's afraid of the Dessert heat!"

Zane was still confused. "I don't get it... Why would she be?"

Goombario stared at him. "Don't you get it Zane? Bombette's a bob-omb, some bob-ombs don't have heat resistance." He motioned to Bombette who couldn't meet anyone's eyes. "If dessert heat bares down on her for too long she could blow up, completely by accident!"

The heroes went wide-eyed at that. "BLOODY STARS, ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?!?!?" Zane asked in exasperation.

Bombette walked up. "It's true... Me and my family took a trip to a beach once, and when I tried to get a tan, I ended up blowing a sandstorm clear across the coastline area." She lowered her head.

Mario shook his head. "Is there-a anyway to-a work over this-a weakness?"

Bombette nodded. "There is... But I never got around to it... I'm sorry guys..."

Kooper waved his hand dismissively. "Hey don't worry about it."

Mario nodded in agreement. "Yeah, all we-a need to-a do is-a work around those weaknesses until we can-a work on getting rid of them-a." He took a look at the 'Fire Shield badge'. "How much is it?"

Rowf considered this. "Well, considering the circumstances, I guess we could work a small discount. Okay then, 50 coins for the badge."

Zane slammed three blue coins and four red coins into Rowf's hands. "SOLD!!"

* * *

_**(The currency system in the Mushroom Kingdom for the Mushroom Kingdom will work as such:**_

**_Gold coins: 1 coin._**

**_Red Coins: 5 coins._**

**_Blue Coins: 10 coins_**

**_All cleared? Good. Back to the story.)_**

* * *

Rowf stared at the currency, then back at Zane. "I guess that's a sell then!" He handed Zane the 'Fire Shield' badge. "If you find anymore badges you want to sell, just come see me!" 

Zane handed the badge to Bombette. "Here, I'm not sure how well this is going to help you, but I suppose it's good enough."

Bombette stared at the badge. "No Zane, I couldn't. I mean you bought it..."

Zane held it out for her kindly. "Yeah... For you."

Bombette stared at it for a second, and took the badge. "Thank you. I'm sorry you had to waste money for this..."

Zane smiled cockily. "Ah it's no prob. I have plenty of money anyways."

"Still... I mean, you bought that with your own money. I should pay you back." Bombette said.

Zane shrugged. "Well you really don't HAVE too... But if you think you should, then fine." Zane looked around, and saw a badge that looked like a spiky ball that was outlined by a pink color, and had yellow in the center. "What kind of badge is this?"

Rowf took the badge off display and examined it. "Ah yes, this is the 'Speedy Spin' Badge. It increases the power of any spin attack you use."

Zane looked at it interested. "How much Magic does it take to use this badge?"

Rowf laughed. "That's the beauty of it Bud! It doesn't take **any** magic to use the badges effects!"

The toad gawked. "For real?!? Wow! I'll take it! How much?"

Rowf seeing the deal, smiled. "50 coins, and it's yours."

Bombette walked forward and handed Rowf the coins. "And that makes us square!" Rowf took the coins and smiled giddily.

Rhuff spoke out for his father. "Our first sales!! We're on our way, huh dad?"

Rowf nodded. "I'll say bud!" he turned to the heroes. "Anything else I can get you guys?"

Mario answered to that. "I don't believe-a so. We've shopped enough for the-a time being."

Rowf seemed somewhat disappointed by that, but got over it quickly. "Well, if you ever have need for a new badge, you can always come to 'Rowf and Son's Badge Shop' for your one stop badge services!"

The heroes nodded. "Okay Rowf, we'll be sure to come visit when we need to!" Goombario said as the heroes walked off.

Rowf smiled. "Good people."

Rhuff nodded. "And great customers too."

* * *

The heroes continued to walk this time making it to central Toad Town. As they walked they passed different buildings, such as Tayce T's Bakery, and Harry T's Item shop. Along with it they passed the warp pipe that would take anyone who jumped in, straight into the Toad Town Sewers. They also passed the bridge that lead to a place called Forever Forest, where, according to Goombario, a gigantic place called Boo's mansion was supposed to be... Somewhere... Zane stopped walking when he saw a peculiar looking flower in the grass. Zane stared at it for a second. "Hey Goombario... Can I see that book of yours for a second?" 

Goombario stared at Zane for a second. "Why?"

Zane just continued to insist. "Just let me see it." Goombario stared at him for a second, before giving him the book. Zane, upon remembering the page that Bub-ulb picture was on, turned to that page. He looked at the picture and compared it to the flower he was looking at in the grass. He gave the book back to Goombario. "Thanks Goombario."

Mario looked at Zane confused. "What's-a wrong Zane?"

Instead of answering, Zane fiddled with the flower a little. "uhhh, wha? what's going on?" A voice came suddenly. Mario and the others looked around wondering where that voice came from. After a second, with a light earth moving 'pop' the flower suddenly, STOOD UP, as it looked. It was exactly as Zane expected. It was a Bub-ulb. "What's going on here?"

"Just as I thought." Zane said. "Your a bub-ulb."

The bub-ulb looked annoyed. "Yeah, that I am... What would you want, that would be worth waking me up from my morning nap for?"

Zane got back on his feet, and scratched the back of his head embarrassed. "I'm very, very sorry to interrupt your nap, sir. But I have a friend who's a real fan of Flower Fields, she's collecting Bub-ulb seeds for her garden..."

The bub-ulb's expression changed. His annoyance dropped, and a face of mischief appeared. "She, eh? I'm gathering she asked you to gather up the seeds for her little garden, eh?" He chuckled slightly. "Sounds like quite the chore. Are you doing this expressively for her?" He chuckled some more.

Zane blushed again. "Oh for CRYIN' OUT-!!"

The Bub-ulb wiggled the top of it's flower head. "No need to fuss, here's the seed you're (Clears throat.) Friend is looking for." After a second of shaking it's top, a small seed dropped from the flower, and landed gently on the grass. Zane leaned down and picked it up. It looked like a small pink seed. "Be sure to keep that safe now. It's delicate."

Zane nodded. He then took off his bag, opened it up, and looked around for a good place for him to put the seed. After a second, he found the same little box he had placed the piece of the Star Gem from before. He carefully placed the seed alongside the gem, and closed the box. He slowly put the box back into a secure place in his bag, and sealed it back up. Once the bag was hanging from his shoulders again, he nodded to the Bub-ulb. "Thank you for being so patient. She's going to love seeing this seed."

Bombette looked at him strangely. "Your not giving it to her now?"

Zane shrugged. "Well, we are in kind of a hurry to Dry Dry Dessert. I'll give it to her when we get back."

Mario looked at him strangely. "We aren't in a hurry."

Zane answered to this. "Well the way I see it, Bombette wouldn't have to roast in the sun, if we traveled through the dessert at night fall." The others nodded agreeing with this logic. "And seeing as how, I know a lot of Mt. Rugged's terrain I think I should lead us to the dessert with little difficulty." He said with a know-it-all smirk.

Bombette interrupted him, the 'Fire Shield' badge was on her person. **_("Don't ask me how, I'm still trying to figure that one out.")_** "But even if we do make it through Mt. Rugged, and even with this badge, how am I going to get through this? I mean sure my body is safe... A little... but now it's my fuse I'm worried about."

Kooper gave Bombette a small comforting pat on the back. "Don't worry we'll think of something."

The Bub-ulb gave a small smile. "Well, I can see that my usefulness has ended." He yawned a little. "Well back to taking my nap."

Zane nodded at him. "Yes, thanks for the seed, and I'm sorry to disturb you."

The Bub-ulb yawned again. "Oh think nothing of it. Night." And with that, he immediately burrowed back underground, the space he was standing was replaced by his flower, sitting serenely along the grass.

Mario started walking to the Train station. "Come on everybody! We need to-a get a move on!"

The other party members nodded and ran to join Mario, leaving the Bub-ulb burried in the ground.

They may have had a hectic day in Toad Town, the heroes now have one destination in mind, the Train Station, to go straight to Mt. Rugged, and after that right into the oven that is 'Dry Dry Dessert'. How will that little expedition go? And what will happen along the way?

* * *

Me: I apologize for ending this chapter so abruptively, but I felt that I had done enough for it. Let me tell you, this chapter is by far my absolute, undeniable longest chapter. Okay it's not exactly that much longer then Chapter 11, but it still surpasses it.

Otto: Well, I need to be going. (Has a bag slung over his shoulder.)

Wally: Good luck on your training mission mate.

Ace: Yeah, you'll get loads stronger after this, I'm sure of it!

Kuma: And don't you worry, I'll look after things for ya!

Otto: Thanks guys... later. (Walks out the door.)

Me: Well now that this is done... I got some serious- (Yawns.) serious Zs to... (Conks out before I could finish sentance.)

Everyone except Gantz: (Sweatdrops.)

Kuma: Don't worry, I got him. (Picks up Gantz and takes him to his room.)

Ace: I think we should get some rest ourselves. We were so busy fixing the place up, we... (Yawns a little.) I think we need to go to bed.

Wally: Yeah... Well since, Gantz is currently (Clears throat.) 'Indisposed' right now, I'll say his line. (Clears throat again, and does a subpar imitation of my voice.) All in all that's chapter 13 of LotSR. I hope you all enjoyed it! (Gives a peace sign.) R&R People!!

Wally (Dropping the Gantz imitation.) and Ace: Until next update! Night everyone!


	15. Mt Rugged Bucaneers

Me: (Still sleeping on my bed.)

Kuma: (Sitting beside it. He spoke with a soft voice) Gantz… Gantz come on wake up, we need to get the new update in…

Me: (I mumble sleepily, and turn over in bed.)

Kuma: (Voice starting to get impatient.) Gantz, it's two o'clock in the afternoon. I think you've had plenty of sleep to recover from the near 'all-nighter' you did.

Me: (Turns to Kuma, and growls angrily at him to leave, before going back to sleep.)

Kuma: (With patience wearing thin, he took a deep breath.) **GANTZ GUN VAN DRAKE!!!!!!!! EITHER YOU GET OUT OF BED AND START WORKING OR SO HELP ME, I **_**WILL**_** START UP OUR OLD WAKE UP CALL REGIMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!** (His yell is extremely loud, that it wakes me up, and blows back my already messed up hair backward.)

Me: (My eyes are wide.) YOU WOULDN'T!!!

Kuma: (Smiles sadistically.) I would…

Me: (I gulp then laugh nervously.) WELL, what are we standing around here for?!? NEW UPDATE TIME!!! (Run's to put finishing touches on chapter.)

Kuma: Thought he'd see it my way.

(Later, Wally, Ace, Kuma, and MMSB are sitting in the theater.)

MMSB: Well the last chapter left us off at before Zane, Mario, and the others were about to go to the train station and get on their way to Mt. Rugged.

Me: (Suddenly appearing.) Yeah! (I surprise everyone.) Anyways, in this chapter, we'll see the heroes get a train to Mt. Rugged, and they meet the next party member in sequence.

Ace: Yeah it should be Parakarry again! He should be the next in sequence.

Me: Not only that, but we also see an old cartoon favorite in the chapter as well!

Wally: (Stares at him questionably.) Really? Who?

Me: You'll see!

????: Are we too late for the next chapter??

(Everyone turns to see a boy with aura ice blue wings that glowed, and dark green hair, with green clothes. On his shoulders was a tiny toy robot, that had a smile on his face.)

Toy robot: Yeah are we?

Me: Ah Shin, (The boy with wings nods.) PA, A.K.A Polybot Alpha [Also known as Polygon bot (The toy robot nods.) There you are. Don't worry, your actually right on time! Go on have a seat, we were about to start.

Shin: Don't mind if we do. (Takes a seat, and puts PA on the chair next to him.)

Me: Well the next chapter should be starting. PA can you get the lights?

PA: Hai [Hai means 'understood' or 'got it' in Japanese (PA hits the lights.)

* * *

Chapter 14

Mt. Rugged Buccaneers

* * *

The scene opens up in Toad Town Train Station, where the train, 'K64' was sitting idly on the rails awaiting use. Some railroad fans were hanging around the station enjoying the sights and taking pictures of the 'K64'. They were eager to see the train off for it's next destination… However with the problem they had, it probably wouldn't be happening soon. 

Their was a clank of feet on the railroad tracks as Mario and friends walked right into the railroad central. Mario slowly looked around the place, taking in the sights. "The Toad Town Train Station…"

Zane walked up as well. "Hmm, been a while since I've seen this place." He looked to the railroad tracks and followed them out to the horizon. He pointed out to it. "Those tracks easily go out for hundreds of miles. As soon as we board the train it could take a few hours or so to get to Mt. Rugged."

Goombario joined in. "And if we continue at that pace, we can easily make it to Dry Dry Dessert around late afternoon, as the suns going down, making it safer to travel for Bombette and thus safer for us." He turned to Zane. "While in the dessert we can try visiting Dry Dry Outpost. I'll bet there's someone there who'll know where to find Dry Dry Ruins."

Zane smiled. "Good thinking as always Goombario, but how will we find Dry Dry Outpost?"

Goombario looked at him. "Well, a long while ago, traveling Nomads formed a small path that goes straight through the dessert and right to Dry Dry Outpost. It'll be easy to follow, especially at night when the sun isn't bearing down on you."

Zane nodded. "Okay, makes sense. So we just need to travel quickly."

The others nodded at that. Bombette lowered her head. "I'm sorry we have to go through all this trouble guys… Maybe it'll be easier if I just stay behind."

Kooper turned to her. "Don't say that! You're a part of the team, you always will be regardless of weaknesses. We don't care if we have to put a bit more effort to plan this."

Zane looked at Bombette. Sure she had that 'Fire Shield Badge', but there were bandits out in the dessert, if she should lose that badge and she's out in the sun… Well they'd be screwed. Just the look on her face let Zane know this… She was concerned, and she feared the worst would happen…

Almost like he did, when he was first found by the 'Dojo Master' those few months ago.

Mario turned to the train. "Well… We should-a get on the train and-a get going."

Zane broke out of his trance and nodded, the others followed this movement.

The heroes walked over to the K64 train that stood almost majestically on the track. The train was red and black in color, had the insignia of a star on the front of it. It's whistle was on top of the train sitting silently. The conductor of the train was standing in front of the train looking quite troubled. The conductor was a toad that wore a black hat with white spots, a black jacket with a 'K64' tag pinned to it, a black pair of pants, and had brown work boots. Zane walked up, pulling out the 'Train Pass' the Master gave him. "Excuse me sir… But me and my friends need to get to Mt. Rugged." He said showing him the pass.

The toad nodded at the pass, but tapped his foot in a worried fashion. "Yeah, you and near everyone else in this station…"

Mario walked up. "Well what's-a the hold up?"

The toad stared at Mario. "Oh Mario! Exquisite timing! I'll explain the situation to you." The toad showed the heroes to the front of the train and pointed to the tracks in front of the 'K64'. There was a humongous boulder sitting on the tracks right in the 'K64's' way.

Kooper stared at it. "Okay, where did THAT come from?"

The Toad conductor crossed his arms worried. "Well, the thing is, it appeared when Peach's Castle was uprooted. It fell from the castle and landed right here on the tracks, of all the rotten luck!" He started to pace. "If we don't get this boulder out of the way soon, I fear we may fall behind schedule! And if THAT happens, I lose my job!!" He looked on the verge of spazing out. "Oh what am I going to do?!?!?"

Bombette examined the boulder and noticed a crack going across the bottom of it. She smiled slightly, giving the 'Fire Shield badge' to Zane to hold. "Hold this for a second, I'll get rid of this boulder." The toad conductor heard that, and turned to look at Bombette as she walked up to the rock on the tracks. She lit her fuse, once she was right next to the rock, and focused as much as she needed to into the explosion.

**BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

A smokescreen was brought up by the explosion. It covered the scene a little bit until it finally went down, revealing Bombette covered with dust but otherwise fine. The boulder that was in the way of the 'K64' had been reduced to rubble, and therefor no problem. She smiled proudly as she walked back to the group. "Nice kaboom, Bombette." Goombario said with a grin.

Bombette only nodded at that. "This is GREAT!!" Came the conductors voice. He looked extremely pleased by this turn of events. "Now that the boulder is out of the way, we can start on our way to Mt. Rugged!" He turned to Mario and friends. "And of course, with your pass, and because of your help, I would be honored to take you all to Mt. Rugged!"

The heroes smiled. "That's-a good! Thank you!" Mario said.

The conductor only responded with, "No, I should thank you! Your the ones that saved my job!" He turned to the people that were waiting for the train. They appeared quite restless and starting to get a bit impatient. They obviously heard the earlier explosion Bombette produced, and their heads were turned to the train. They looked happy now that the obvious problem had been dealt with. The conductor pulled out a whistle from his pocket, cleaned it a little, and blew. A long shrill noise cut through the silence. "ALL ABOARD!!!!" The conductor shouted for everyone to hear. "NEXT STOP: MT. RUGGED!!!!"

The Train riders immediately formed an orderly line in front of the train, the people at the front of the line were showing the conductor their tickets so they could board. The train itself was about three cars long, so fitting them all on would've been a piece of cake. Zane walked up to the line. "Come on guys!!" The heroes nodded and went into the line themselves.

* * *

Within a few minutes, the heroes boarded the train, and, with a big whistle, the train was off across the tracks. From the engine cars smoke stacks came little puffs of smoke that took on the shape of Star Men. As it rolled by, going at 78 miles an hour, the scenery passed by, when it first left the Toad Town station, it passed by the Prairies of Grass Land, and soon came across a mountainous region. 

The view zooms in on the final car of the train, the front compartment window, where a certain character was looking out the window, admiring the scenery. Sitting next to Zane was Goombario, who decided to take a quick nap before they arrived, was conked out in the seat. His deep, silent breathing let the toad know he was asleep. Mario was lounging on the seat, listening to a MP3 Player and a pair of headphones that Kooper had brought. His eyes were closed, and he was apparently to into the song to notice what was going on around him. Speaking of Kooper, he was napping himself, his head leaned back and lightly snoring. Bombette was doing the same as Kooper and Goombario, eyes closed, breathing deep, yet silently.

Zane smiled at his friends. He knew that they would need some rest, before they started climbing Mt. Rugged. It was some pretty rough terrain, and if they strayed from the path, they would be in for some rather difficult traveling. After all, Mt. Rugged didn't get it's name from being small and easy to traverse. He figured he'd better get some sleep himself to get himself rested and ready to go. Zane slouched in his chair a little, and slowly closed his eyes, letting sweet slumber pass over him...

"BEEP, BEEP!!!" Zane almost jumped clear out of his seat._'Where did THAT come from?!?'_ he thought, starting to look around for the source of the noise.

"BEEP, BEEP!!!" It came again. Zane quickly turned to his window, where the sound came from. He looked out the window... And quite honestly couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Running, that's right, RUNNING alongside the train, at 78 miles an hour, was what looked like an ostrich-like bird, it had light blue feathers on his torso area, as well as it's rear, where a frilled tail looking bunch of feathers were flapping wildly in the wind. It also had dark blue feathers on his wings and on top of his head, the feathers on top of the head was brushed upward, as if it was a kind of hairstyle. It's beak was bright yellow and it's muzzle area was curved upward into a goofy but confident grin. It's orange legs and feet were moving so fast, they almost looked like a blurry orange wheel... A wheel that was going so fast it was kicking up a cloud of dust as it ran... Zane recognized the creature instantly...

It was Road Runner.. The very same bird that constantly outwitted the idiotic coyote Wile. E.

Road Runner looked to Zane through the window. It gave a him a smile that was brimming with confidence, yet, was focused. Before Zane could react, Road Runner suddenly looked behind him. Something must've been coming up on him. He repeatedly and rapidly stuck his tongue in and out of his mouth that made a sound that resembled a cork being removed from a bottle top repeatedly. "Beep, Beep!!" The bird said, turning to Zane, giving him a friendly salute... And disappearing in a cloud of dust. Zane couldn't see anything for a second before a shadow ran into view of the dust cloud.

After a second, the dust cloud disappeared, revealing a scrawny, dark brown furred coyote, with light tan fur on it's muzzle area as well as underneath it's neck, as well as on it's stomach and chest area. Zane recognized this character too, it had to be Wile E. Coyote, trying to catch Road Runner again... Lord have mercy on his soul...

Wile E. turned to the window himself to see Zane staring at him. After a second, Zane shook his head, obviously pitying the poor creature. Wile E. started waving his fist at the boy angrily...

POOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zane winced when that happened. Wile had run right into a railroad-crossing sign. Though what one was doing in this mountainous region was lost to him. He chuckled a little though, amused at Wile E.'s humiliation.

As the train sped by, Wile E. slowly slid down the sign and landed with a slide face first on the ground. He slowly lifted himself back up and held up a sign that said one thing. 'Ow.'

* * *

**_(Everyone in the authors booth, starts laughing their fool heads off.)

* * *

_**  
Wile E., almost as if hearing laughing from somewhere, gave you, the readers, an annoyed gaze. He turned the sign around to reveal the second message. 'You all are enjoying this aren't you?'

"BEEP, BEEP!!!" Poor Wile E. jumped out of his skin at that... Right off a cliff he was standing next to. Wile E. fell for a few seconds, his form growing smaller and smaller as he fell. A small dust cloud appeared as well as a distant sounding thud, indicating that he finally hit rock bottom... _Literally_.

The view turned back to Road Runner, who was staring down at where Wile E. fell. He then turned to look at the railroad crossing sign, before pulling it out of the ground. Whoever put it there didn't put it in too deep. The view went back to Road Runner, who turned to you, the readers and held up a sign that said, 'Must've been something Wile E. put up... Oh well...' He rapidly stuck his tongue in and out again, went "Beep, beep!!!" and ran off, the sign he was holding floated in mid-air for a few seconds a smokey version of Road Runner holding it, before it finally fell to the ground. **_(Screen fades to black.)_**

* * *

**_(Screen lights back up.)_**

"Zane wake up!! We're here!!" Came a voice. Zane jumped up, now awake. It was Goombario's voice that had called him, he knew because he recognized the goomba's voice, and he was standing next to the door out of the compartment. "We've arrived in Mt. Rugged!"

Zane jumped out of his seat and ran out the compartment door. "Really? Where's the others?"

"Right over here!" Came Bombette's voice from the front of the train car. They looked to see Bombette, Kooper and Mario standing next to the car exit door, waiting for them. Zane and Goombario ran up to the others. "Right on time! The train stopped only a few seconds ago, they're about to open the doors to let passengers out."

No sooner did she say that then the door did slide open letting sunshine into the train car's halls. Zane held his breath a little, knowing the sights that awaited. "MT. RUGGED, MT. RUGGED!!!" called the conductor of the train as they stepped out.

They all stepped out of the train and beheld the Mt. Rugged mountain ranges in all their glory. The first mountain in the hiking trail wasn't exactly that tall but it still reached upward a good 3 stories above the train. From where he was standing, Zane could almost see the mountains that were next to this one, they were a bit taller then this one in front of them, and looked a bit difficult to traverse across. But Zane knew that so long as they stuck to the hiking trail they'd be fine. "Well let's get moving, guys." Zane said, walking toward the first rock step and jumping onto it. "If we want to make Dry Dry Dessert by nightfall we'd better hurry." The group nodded at this.

"Lead-a the way, Zane. You-a probably know this-a mountain better then-a anyone." Mario said following him. Kooper, Goombario, and Bombette folowed behind.

They walked up big stone steps that scaled the first rock formation. The mountains, they could now see from the rockface, stretched on for miles, and miles, each rockface had different traits and shapes to tell between them and was quite unique in their own way. As they walked, the group suddenly stopped to see a small narrow path to the right, that was blocked off by a big grey metal block. Mario walked up and gave it a few good whacks. "This block is pretty strong... I don't think my hammer could break through it."

Goombario walked up and examined it himself. "Well you could probably break through it Mario... It's just you would need a stronger hammer."

Knowing they wouldn't be going that way anytime soon, the group continued on up the rock stairway that would lead right into the hiking trail of Mt. Rugged. Once at the top of the rockface in front of the train station, they could look out over the horizon, and see the rockfaces they had seen during their slimb in a little bit more detail. One looked like an ancient Hawaiian Easter statue, it looked as if it was being stared at by another Hawaiian Easter statue quite similar looking to it, just right in front of itself. It almost looked as if they were having a staring contest of some kind. Another looked like a cone with a small path that circled up it's face and wound up right at the top. There were so many, they almost dotted the horizon! It stopped, however, at what looked like a great ocean of sand. Mario knew from experience that that had to have been Dessert Land, a sand covered land that was surrounded by a barrier of mountains to almost isolate it from the rest of the world... And for good reason too.

Zane was about to lead the others right into the hiking trail... When... "Oh CONFOUND IT!!! Where did those letters go?!?" Zane and the others stopped right there.

"Hmm? Who's voice was that?" Kooper asked starting to look around.

" Don't-a know..." Mario said, starting to look around himself. "Didn't sound-a familiar..."

The heroes looked around curiously trying to find the source of the voice... Zane looked around to the hiking trail, before turning his back to look around from where they came... THUD!!! Someone suddenly collided with him causing him to fall to the ground. He heard another thud, signifying that the individual that backed into him fell too. Zane quickly got to his feet and began swearing under his breath, before turning around and yelling. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YOU BLIND, FRIGGEN, MORO-" He stopped right there, seeing who it was.

Right then and there both Mario and Zane couldn't believe how stupid they were, not realizing who's voice that was right away. Sitting there on the ground was a paratroopa, wearing a aviators hat with the goggles pulled down over his eyes. He had a red shell with white wings coming from the back, had a mailbag strapped around his shoulder, and wore a pair of brown workboots. It was none other then the famous postman. Name? Parakarry.

Parakarry got up, dusted himself off, and slowly hovered back into what could be considered normal hovering height for a paratroopa. "Well excuse me for living, young man! I know I should look where I'm going, but still that's no reason to yell at someone like that."

He took another look at just 'who' he was talking too. "Ah, Zane. I should've thought that would be you. I can't believe I didn't recognize your yelling." He shook his head pitifully clicking his tongue while doing so. "(Tsk, tsk, tsk) I see you still haven't learned how to control that temper of yours."

Zane scratched the back of his head bashfully. "Ah sorry about that Parakarry, I guess it was because I was caught off guard was all... I'm actually getting better about that temper thing."

Parakarry nodded his head in understanding. "Ah don't worry boy, I suppose I should've watched where I was going anyways." He turned to Mario. "AH, Mario! Good to see you again, as well."

Mario nodded. "Yeah good to see you too, Parakarry." Zane didn't ask, figuring that Parakarry's reputation was enough to know why Mario knew him.

Parakarry turned to the others. "So who are these guys?"

Intoductions were passed around after that, and the group got to know Parakarry a little better. Apparently Parakarry was a mailman who went around Toad Town and other places and towns of the Mushroom Kingdom to deliver letters to their rightful owners. It was because of the fact that he traveled such far distances to deliver letters, and always did it with a neighborly smile, that he got himself a fan or two during his business ventures.

"Okay then! Nice to meet you all!" Parakarry said with a neighborly grin, he then stared at Mario thoughtfully. "Say Mario... I saw the bulletin board back at Toad Town. It said you saved a Star Spirit... Care to explain?"

He ended up getting a shortened version of the adventure that had happened earlier. "Ah a quest, to save the Star Spirits, huh? I must say that I'm quite jealous!"

Zane now looked at Parakarry thoughtfully. "Speaking of which, what are you doing here on Mt. Rugged, Parakarry?"

Parakarry's happy-go-lucky face dropped, and one full of worry immediately followed. "Well, you see..." He sighed. "I was on my way to Dry Dry Outpost to deliver a few letters. But during my flight, some wind picked up and I lost them in the mountains!" He looked around worriedly. "If I don't find them soon, who knows where my jobs going to go..." He started looking for the missing letters again. "Oh this is not good!"

Kooper walked up to the worried paratroopa. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Parakarry looked up at him. "Oh no-no-no-no! I couldn't bother you with this! It's my problem."

Bombette turned to Zane, Mario, and Goombario. "What do you think guys?"

Mario responded. "I think we should-a help him. He needs it desperately now."

Zane nodded. "Yeah, he's a nice guy. And he doesn't deserve to have his butt fired for a small slip-up like this."

Goombario agreed. "Uh-huh! He's the guy who delivers letters to Goomba Village, and me and Goombaria are good friends with him. It would be a shame if he lost his job."

Bombette agreed as well. "I say we help the guy!"

Mario nodded and turned to Parakarry. "Parakarry." The paratroopa turned to Mario. "It wouldn't-a be any trouble at all! We'll help you find those missing letters!"

Parakarry looked surprised. "You will?!?" Mario nodded. Parakarry started to celebrate a little. "YES!!! OH THANK YOU, YOU GUYS!!! YOU'RE REAL LIFE SAVERS!!!" He looked around a little more. "I lost three letters in all on this mountain. They should be easy to spot if you look hard enough." He turned to look at the area, the others walked by just seconds ago. "I'll look around this area a little bit more, and join you as soon as I can." He turned back to the heroes. "Please help me find my letters! Otherwise it's my job on the line!"

Everyone nodded. "No worries Parakarry!" Zane said, giving him an assuring wink. "We'll find those letters in no time!"

And with that the heroes started walking off towards the great Mt. Rugged, with one goal in mind. To find Parakarry's missing letters, and still make Dry Dry Dessert by nightfall.

With that in mind they walked right into the hiking trail of Mt. Rugged, Zane leading the way. The first area they walked into was a rock stairway that lead downward to a dead-end. Their was a gap from the stone step to another one that was a good distance away. On that stone step, a single flower was blowing blissfully along with the wind. "I don't recall that flower being there before..." Zane said. He stared at the flower a little while, before realization dawned on him. "I think that might be another Bub-ulb!"

Goombario walked up and compared the distance of the rock step they were standing on and the distance between the rock step on the other side. "I don't think we can make a jump like that. We could just go down the steps and climb up that rock." The heroes nodded in agreement, and were about to do just that...

"NOT a good idea..." Zane said suddenly. The heroes walked back to him and looked at him confused. He pointed to the ground between the two rock steps. "Look."

The heroes looked. They saw a few small pebbles that was accompanied by a small boulder that almost seemed perfectly rounded. "I don't see anything..." Bombette said. Zane picked up a rock that was by his feet, and lightly chucked it at the small perfectly rounded boulder.

THUNK!

The boulder suddenly transformed into an ugly looking creature, with black eyes, spikes on it's back, and a gruff looking exterior. Goombario looked at it for a second before realization dawned on him. "It's a Cleft!"

Indeed it was a cleft. The cleft looked around to see what had thrown the rock, not bothering to look up. After a second of looking, it transformed back into the perfectly rounded boulder shape it had taken before. Bombette stared at Zane and Goombario, "I don't get it, whats the deal?"

Zane was the one who answered. "When me, and the other members of the dojo trained here, we had to be extremely careful not to run into a cleft. Clefts have rock hard defenses that are hard to beat."

Goombario finished. "You could probably deal with one no sweat Bombette, so long as you explode. But if were surrounded by more then one you'd be outmatched." He shrugged as he finished. "With this in mind, we'd need to sprout wings and fly to talk to that Bub-ulb."

Zane looked through his bag and found no 'Wing Caps'. "And we used the only two 'Wing Caps I bought when fighting that Albatoss."

Mario shrugged. "Well, until we find a way over, or beat that Cleft, I guess we can't reach it for now."

Bombette looked at them angrily. "I can take 'em!! Theres only one!"

Kooper walked to the side where the steps were located, and looked aghast. "I wouldn't be to sure of that..." The group looked there themselves to see five, maybe even seven clefts lying in the shade the rock step provided.

Bombette sweatdropped. "Uh, never mind..."

The heroes continued on their way after that. They walked up a flight of stone steps that was to the right of them and continued up the hiking trail. As they continued walking, they eventually found the stone steps stop, and a wide flat space before them. Kooper just happened to look to his left, and saw what looked like a stone slide that was backed up against a flight of steps. "Think we should check up there?" He suggested.

"Good-a idea." Mario nodded, running to the stone steps. he jumped up the steps and found himself at the top after a couple of leaps. He looked down. "FOUND-A ONE!" Mario said, bending down. When he stood back up straight, he held up a small letter for the group to see.

Zane pumped his fist to the side. "YES! One down, two to go!" He turned back to Mario. "Come on!! Lets get moving!!!" Mario nodded. He slid down the slide and went to join them. Zane nodded, and turned back to the path...

POW!!! A rock collided with his face... "YEOOOWWWW!!!"

Goombario looked past him. "What the?"

Just past the group of travelers were moles with light brown fur, and a small pair of sunglasses over their eyes. "Monty Moles!" Mario shouted.

Zane honestly didn't care what these little HEATHENS were called. Cause they were asking for one heck of a butt whooping. "Give me that hammer Mario..." Instead of waiting for Mario to give him the hammer, he snatched it right out of the Plumbers hand. "Cause I'm about to show these little creeps what for!!!!" Before the nearest Monty Mole knew what happened...

**"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

It was hit upside the head with Mario's hammer, Zane holding it.

Zane didn't stop there, before the Monty Moles had a chance to register what had happened, Zane slammed another one upside the head, then another, then another. It soon got to where it looked like a game of 'Whack-a-Mole' more then anything. The remaining, and/or dazed Monty Moles immediately retreated back into their holes before a new session of pain could begin, and judging by the fearful sounds they made, it was obvious that they weren't going to try again.

Zane threw the hammer back to Mario. "Thanks Mario!" He stretched a little. "MAN, that felt good!"

Mario rubbed his temples in agitation. "Zane, how about-a next time you use the hammer you wait for me to let you?"

Zane blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry Mario."

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in Dry Dry Desert, a familiar bird was running across the landscape. Roadrunner was still enjoying one of his daily runs, with Wile E. Coyote, right behind him... **AGAIN**... 

Wile E. came ever so closer to catching Roadrunner, his hands almost on him. That is before Roadrunner turned his head to Wile E., repeatedly stuck out his tounge, "BEEP, BEEP!!!" and was gone in a flash of blinding speed. Wile E. stared in exasperation at this and put on the breaks. How was he going to catch Roadrunner now? He certainly wasn't going to get him running, especially now that Roadrunner's kicked it into second gear... He snapped his fingers, an idea coming to him and he quickly ran somewhere. Once behind a boulder somewhere off the path to Dry Dry Outpost, he pulled a laptop computer seemingly from out of nowhere and began typing furiously...

* * *

Back with Zane and the others, Zane had just found another letter. 

"That's one more down! One more to go!" He said with a broad grin. Goombario's eyes were still stuck on the wierd looking item that was on the next rock step, that was too far to jump to. It was a badge by the look of it. It looked like a hammer that was dark blue in color and had a few riggity outlines, like it was shaking. That was the Quake Hammer badge.

"If we could just get that badge, we could probably make some fights easier." Goombario said staring at it.

Kooper looked at it for a second. "I agree with Goombario, but how do we reach it?"

The others stared at it for a second. Before an idea popped into Mario's head. "Kooper, come-a here a second."

Kooper looked to Mario confused but nodded regardless. After a second of whispering, Kooper and Mario walked back up to the group. "What'cha got in mind?" Zane asked, wondering how this would go.

Kooper smiled, "We do have one idea." He turned to Mario. "Ready, Mario?" Mario only nodded.

Much to everyone's surprise, Kooper withdrew into his shell. Mario suddenly jumped onto the shell and braced himself for something. The question as to 'what' was immediatly answered. Kooper began spinning in place, making Mario spin as well. The spinning intensified, making everyone watching dizzy. Finally, just what they were up to became plain. Mario suddenly jumped off of Kooper's shell, using the velocity of Kooper's spin to help him gain more distance. He managed to safely land on the rock, though he appeared a little dizzy. Kooper finally stopped spinning, and pulled himself out of his shell. Seeing their idea had worked he pumped his fist to his side. "YES!" He said in a celebratory tone.

Mario picked up the badge, and jumped down from the rock step. The others followed to see his new prize. "Hmm..." Goombario said, appraising their prize. "The badge is still in good condition, it seems! So we can still use it's ability."

Zane smirked, liking the idea. "Well at least we can get through this place a little easier, now."

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in Dry-Dry Desert, Road-Runner was running along at his usual break-neck pace, loving every moment of freedom and the wind flying across his body. He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks to see he was close to a table that had a pile of bird seed on it. The bird stared curiously at the bird seed, before shrugging. 'Maybe a gift from a fan' he thought, before helping himself to the feed. 

Little did he realize that behind a rock nearby sat Wile E. with what looked like a clasic bomb detonator, in the shape of a pump. Wile E. smiled insidiously, seeing that the prey had fallen for his 'clever' trap. He plugged in a couple of wires to the detonator, and immediately pressed it down! He covered his ears waiting for the explosion to come... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... All he heard was Road-Runner finishing his little snack, go "BEEP, BEEP!" And disappearing in a flash of speed.

Wile E. stared at the table confused. Shouldn't it have gone off? He got up from where he was sitting, and immediately walked to the table, intent on checking on the explosives he hid under the table clothe. He slowly lifted up the covering...

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

After the dust settled, Wile E's front was covered with soot, and a small remains of the table clothe he had lifted up was in his hands. He gave a look of humiliation to the screen before it goes black.

* * *

Back with the heroes, they were looking at a huge trench that reached further then Mario could ever jump. The other side had a bridge hanging loosely from a pair of pegs, while there was another pair of pegs on their side of the sheer drop. It was obvious that the free hanging bridge was what used to get travelers across this huge drop. Goombario examined the drop. "It may be too far across..." He kicks a rock down into the trench. He leans his head down to listen for the sound of the rock hitting bottom. He finally heard it after a few seconds. "But's it's not too deep. It probably goes on for a story or two." 

After hearing the analysis, the others looked around. "Well, I'm guessing one of us should check it out..." Kooper said.

"I see a bunch of clefts down there..." Zane said, rubbing his chin. He then turned to Mario. "Well Mario, I think it's time for us to put that new quake badge to good use!"

Mario nodded, understanding. "Right! HERE WE GO!" He jumped down into the trench, with Zane following close behind.

Once hitting bottom, the clefts were instantly awakened from their sunbathing nap. They charged at Zane and Mario, fully intent on putting their rock hard bodies to good use. Mario pulled back his hammer, and a small flash came from his weapon. Before the Clefts could get too close to the two heroes, Mario's hammer hit the ground...

Almost immediately, a quake kicked up and slammed all of the clefts, knocking them on their backs. The way the stars circled their heads, it became apparent that they weren't going to be getting up anytime soon. Zane smirked, glad that he could finally see those rock-hard creatures finally get what was coming to them. "HA, Gotcha!"

Mario walked past the downed Clefts and found the third and final letter laying on the ground. "Well, that's the-a last letter!" He turned back to Zane, and saw a spring board right behind him. "Lets get back to Parakarry and give him his letters."

Zane turned himself and saw the springboard. "Yeah, lets get a move on, we still need to make the desert by night fall." Mario went first, jumping on the springboard and jumping up to the others. Zane quickly followed, putting all his weight into his landing and catapulting upward.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere nearby, a familiar face watched from a bush. It was none other then Meriee Merlon, watching as the group started back to Parakarry, after Zane and Mario rejoined them on the top of the ravine. "He is rather impressive..." She said. "First he beat the Koopa Bros, single-handedly in Toad Town, when they were in their Toad disguises, then that little fight with the Monty Moles..." Meriee gave an almost frightened look, "He's a lot tougher then I had originally thought... That much is for certain..." 

Meriee slowly took a few steps back, as they started her way. "Oh here they come... I better get out of here..." Having said that, she ran off to find someplace new to hide.

The heroes continued walking along to get to Parakarry. "Oh well this is great..." Zane said suddenly.

Goombario stared at him confused. "What?"

"I just remebered something..." He said while gritting his teeth. "That trench we were at... Lead to Dry Dry Desert! I thought I was forgetting something!"

Kooper jumped. "That was the way to Dry Dry Desert?!?!?" He lowered his head. "Just great... looks like we're stuck..."

Bombette lowered her head. "How are we gonna get to the other side? None of us can jump that far, and since we don't have wing caps, Power Feathers, or Super Leaves, we can't fly across..."

Mario gave the party members an encouraging smile. "Don't you-a worry. We'll-a think of something."

The party continued through the hiking trail they had traversed earlier. Thankfully, the Monty Moles had not gathered up the courage to return, and no clefts had moved on to the path to go sun-bathing. It was within a few minutes that they reached where Parakarry was, at the beginning of the hiking trail, still looking around to see if his letters had been dropped around there.

He turned to see the others walking up. "Oh Mario and friends! There you are! I was just about to go looking for you!" He flew up to the others. "Well I couldn't find any of the letters I dropped her, so I guess I'd better get to looking further on the trail..."

Kooper stepped in. "There's no need to! We found em'!"

Mario handed Parakarry the letters they had found. "These the-a letters you were looking for?"

Parakarry took the letters and examined them, after a second, he smiled widely. "Yes! Thank you for finding them!!" He wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead. "I must say, I was starting to get a bit concerned that we would never find them... Phew! Good thing we-no-you did, though!"

Zane shrugged. "Ah, it was nothing. We were going to Dry Dry Desert, and what's wrong with a small side-trip around the hiking trail?" He winked a little. "It was no problem."

Parakarry smiled even more at that. "How very humble of you." He then suddenly looked at them thoughfully, "You said you were heading to Dry Dry Desert right?"

Goombario lowered his head. "Yeah, like we said before we need to go there to find another Star Spirit..."

Zane continued. "But unfortunately, the bridge that connects this hiking trail with Dry Dry Desert is out, leaving only that huge trench." Zane kicked a pebble on the ground. "It looks like we're gonna need to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom to get the proper items to get over it."

Parakarry thought about this for a second. He looked at his own wings and suddenly smiled kindly. "Or not..." Everyone turned to Parakarry.

"What are you talking about?" Goombario asked.

Parakarry simply responded with this. "Well, I have wings, and I'm pretty strong I can probably carry you over that trench myself."

Everyone gawked; they obviously didn't see that one coming. "OH NO-NO-NO-NO!!" Bombette insisted. "We couldn't ask so much from you, I mean, it wouldn't be right..."

Parakarry's smile stayed. "Oh think nothing of it, I would be happy to!"

Mario was about to politely turn down the offer, before Parakarry suddenly said this. "It would be no trouble at all! And besides, if you really must have some way to pay me back for it, then fine!" He turned to the others. "The letters you've found today, aren't the only letters I've dropped in my career." He motioned out the wide horizon and gave a small frown. "I wouldn't be surprised if I've dropped letters all over the Mushroom Kingdom! I'm not too proud to admit it, I am somewhat clumsy..." He smiled. "But with your help, I can easily get back all of those missed messages, and get back on track!"

Mario looked unsure of this. "I don't know... We'll be running into a lot of danger and trouble..."

Parakarry just continued to insist. "Don't you worry about me! I can even defend myself too! So you have nothing to worry about bringing me along!"

Mario and the others thought about this for a second. "Well... Who here thinks he should come along?"

Zane went first. "Well, he says he can defend himself, and he can help us get across that gap... I guess it wouldn't hurt." He said with a shrug.

Goombario went next. "Having him along could be benefecial to the team."

Kooper put in his two cents. "It'll be nice to have him along..."

Bombette finished it up. "And I don't think I have any objections!"

Mario nodded at that. "Okay then." He turned to Parakarry. "Parakarry... We'll tak you up on you're offer."

Parakarry nodded himself. "Thank you, Mario. I'm glad that you'll have me on the team."

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere deep in Dry Dry Desert...

A strange robed figure could be seen walking across the sand. It looked around a little bit. _"Let's see now..."_ It reached into it's pocket and pulled out a small sack. The figure chuckled a little, before opening the sack and dumping it's contents into the dirt.

All that fell out was a small ant...

Roadrunner suddenly ran by, quickly followed by Wile E. Coyote... The two stopped however, to look at the robed figure. _"Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh..._ _this should distract those heroes long enough for me to find Dry Dry Ruins..."_ Suddenly the ant burrowed underground... It was silent for a few seconds...

**_RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_**

Wile E. jumped at that. Even Roadrunner seemed a bit worried. Something wrong was happening, he could feel it...

_"That's my job done..."_ The figure walked off, all the while chuckling insidiously. _"The MASTER will be most pleased with this..."_ And with that being said the figure disappeared into the desert to look for Dry Dry Ruins...

Roadrunner stood there a second, before running off... Wile E. slowly looked back to Roadrunner... Upon seeing he was gone the coyote fumed, and ran after him...

Whatever had just been started, had been started...

* * *

Ace: Oh I did NOT like the sound of that...

Kuma: Neither do I.

Me: Trust me! Things are going to be interesting in due time! (I turn to the screen, and give a peace sign.) R&R People!

Ace and Wally: Until next update!!

Shin: Why did that voice sound so... Familiar?


	16. Time to Turn Up the Heat

Me: (Finishes up chapter.) That should do it! (I smirk slightly.) Boy are those guys gonna be in for a thriller!

(Once the chapter was all loaded up into the movie player, the assistant authors were watching a rather strange show on TV.)

Me: Hey guys what are ya watchin'?

Otto: Heh, they had a 'Goosebumps' marathon, on Cartoon Network.

(Shin and Ace are hugging each other fearfully staring at the screen wide-eyed.)

Me: You know I don't like R.L. Stines Works! Change the channel. I've got the new chapter up.

(I take the remote control. However just before I could change the channel, a commercial comes up for the new 'Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy', and 'Kids Next Door' Crossover Cartoon, Coming on Cartoon Network on November 11th. It was called 'The Grim Adventures of the KND.)

Me: Well, I heard that they were coming out with that! Now they've finally got it finished! We should watch it when it comes on!

Wally: After seeing the end of 'Billy and Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure; The Movie' I'd love to see just what kind of wild things will happen this time!

Me: Tell me about it. (I turn to Shin and Ace, after changing to the appropriate movie watching channel.) You two okay?

Shin: I wondered why you never liked the Goosebumps show… I just got my answer as to why…

Ace: (Only shivers.)

Me: Calm down you two. (I turn to the screen.) And now we have Chapter 15 of 'LotSR'; 'Time to Turn Up The Heat'! In this chapter, we'll see the heroes first encounter with the gigantic vulture, Buzzar, and the answer to what had been unleashed at the end of chapter 14 will be answered.

PA: I have the popcorn ready!

MMSB: Yeah! Bring on the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 15

Time to Turn Up the Heat

* * *

"Yes, thank you for the seed." Zane said. 

Shortly after Parakarry joined the group, he was given his first job; to fly Zane over the first cleft filled crevice to gain the seed from the Bub-ulb there. The bub-ulb was more then happy to impart with his seed, and gave it to Zane immediately. After saying that, Zane delicately placed the seed in the black box that he kept the other seed, as well as the strange shard, Eldstar had given him.

Once Zane had the black box back inside his bag, the bub-ulb smiled lightly. "Well now that that's done, back to the dirt for me." The bub-ulb said, before burrowing back into the ground.

Zane turned to Parakarry. "Okay man, now that that's taken care of, let's get back over the crevice to the others."

Parakarry nodded. "Say no more. Come on." Parakarry took Zane's hand and flew him over the crevice back to the others.

Once back, the group immediately moved on. "Well, two seeds down, two more to go."

Bombette smiled slightly. "Well we better keep collecting then." She looked around at the mountainous region. "But until then, we better get to Dry-Dry Dessert and get to finding the Star Spirit."

Mario nodded, knowing this was true. "Yes, so-a lets keep moving."

* * *

The view once again shows Dry Dry Dessert, as a familiar blur zoomed through the dessert, kicking up a storm of dust. After a second, the blur stopped revealing it to be Road Runner. Road Runner slowly turned around, and gave a worried look to where he had just ran from. That monster that had just been unleashed into the dessert... It was so unfamiliar to him, he had never felt a bigger bad vibe, then he had from that thing. 

From a further away distance, Wile E. tried to catch his breath as he hit the ground panting. Slowly, he got up and took a closer look at where he had lost the Road-Runner. Dang, he was fast! Well, it was obvious he wasn't about to catch him today... So he might as well go home for today... Having thought that, Wile E. turned with a depressed look on his face and he ran home, full speed.

Back at a cave at the foot of a cliff, Wile E. entered the cave. "Oh well..." He muttered to himself, before a hopeful glint caught his eye. "There's always tomorrow!" Wile E. walked through the cave and sat himself down in front of a desk. On the rock desk was the laptop he had used to order Acme Goods from before. He started typing at the computer, on the screen the Acme Corporation website came on as usual. "Now to look around..."

_"Interesting cave..."_

Wile E. jumped, his eyes widened. He knew that voice!

He slowly turned around in his chair to see whom was at his door... Standing there was the very same hooded figure, he and Road Runner had seen in the desert... _"Ah, you must be Wile E. Coyote... I have heard good things about you."_

Wile E. jumped out of his seat and backed himself to the wall. "Huh-huh-Who are you?!?!?"

The hooded person stared at Wile E., an evil smirk appearing from behind his hood. _"My name is of little importance. I have come not for simple introductions. But rather, for your help, Wily."_ Back at the Stone Cactus, Wile E. really couldn't listen to closely to his voice, but even here, he could catch a slight British accent from this mysterious man.

The coyote looked confused; Say what? "M-my help?"

_"Yes..." _The hooded figure answered. _"You ARE a genius aren't you?"_

Wile E. couldn't help but feel some pride at that. "Why yes! Yes I am!" His face suddenly turned confused. "But what do you need me for?"

The figure smirked from behind his hood. _"I am in need to find the ancient Dry Dry Ruins. A certain artifact awaits me there."_ He walked forward, and reaching towards Wile E. the sleeve covered the hand. _"And I need your help to find it."_

Wile E. tried to inch away from his hand. "And if I... Refuse?"

All went silent at that...

The robed figure suddenly chuckled... His chuckle grew in volume, until it became all-out evil hysterical laughter. Wile E. shuddered at the laughter. After a moment, the laughter died down... _"Heheheheheheh... I'm afraid you have little choice now... The second I came into your cave, it was too late." _He chuckled...

And a deep monstrous growl could be heard just right outside the cave... Followed by a pair of teeth like pincers trying to take a snap at whatever was in the cave. _"Not now my creature..."_ The robed figure said, smirking sadistically._ "Let him... Think about his choice."_

Wile E. gulped, now realizing he DIDN'T have a choice now...

* * *

Meanwhile, back on Mt. Rugged, the heroes had arrived at the big crevice that separated them from Dry Dry Desert. 

"Well here it is." Goombario said, looking down into the crevice. "All we need to do now is cross it."

"Leave it to me!" Parakarry said floating forward. "Okay, I'll carry each of you over one at a time. So who's first?"

Zane walked over. "I'll go first, and take care of any problems that may bother us as we cross." He turned to Parakarry. "Lets get moving Parakarry."

Parakarry nodded and grabbed Zane's arms. "Here we go!" He suddenly lifted off the ground, carrying Zane along with him. "Hang on now Zane!"

"Gotcha!" Zane said, hanging on tightly to Parakarry's wrists. And with that Parakarry took off off over the crevice. After a moments flight, Zane and Parakarry arrived at the other side.

Zane looked around. He didn't see any monsters on their way to cause them trouble, so. "Parakarry, go and get the others. I'll keep a look out here."

Parakarry nodded. "Will do Zane." Having said that, he took off over the crevice to pick up the remaining members.

As he did as such, Zane continued to look around. As he did as such, he saw the continent of Desert Land even closer then ever. He figured that this mountain route they were on, was on one of the mountains that circled Desert Land like a barrier. He could feel it too. Desert Land's heat was apparent even from where he stood. It suddenly became little wonder that Dry Dry Desert, and Mt. Rugged were the closest places in the world to Desert Land.

Once Parakarry had ferried the last person over, the heroes were on their way again. After a few seconds walk, they found themselves walking across a rope bridge. "So what do you guys think?" Bombette asked, looking up to the sky.

Mario looked up into the sky and saw the sun slowly starting to go down. "It looks like we'll make it to the desert by night fall. So we're-a right on time."

Kooper came up and gave Bombette a reassuring pat on the back. "See? I told ya we'd be okay!"

Zane looked around, "Well, so far so good. Ever since Parakarry joined us, we haven't had any monsters try to attack us... Maybe their starting to back off..."

"WHOA!!! HOLD UP THERE PARDNER!!!!" Came a voice to the heroes left as they reached the other end of the bridge. They turned that way...

Sitting on a nest on a cone like cliff, had to have been the biggest buzzard the heroes had ever seen in their lives. It was a giant bird with black feathers a bald head, and a single small feather on the top of his head. "You all look awfully familiar, pardners..." He said, flying out of his nest and up to the group.

Zane groaned. "Guh... Spoke to soon." Once the vulture reached the trail the heroes were on, he reached behind his back and pulled out a small piece of paper, seemingly from nowhere. He examined the paper for a second before putting it away.

"Yep they look VERY similar!" He said, turning to Mario. "You there, with the stache'!"

Mario jumped is surprise. "Me?"

The buzzard retorted with, "YEAH YOU PARDNER!!" He slowly put himself on the ground, wings folded. "You look a lot like the guy on Bowser's wanted posters... Are you Mario?"

Zane stepped forward as if he was about to say something, but Goombario suddenly pulled him back. "What?" Zane asked. "I was about to tell the guy to buzz off!"

Goombario gave him a nervous gaze. "Maybe we should watch our mouths here Zane... I don't think that Buzzard is worth the trouble to fight, if he's here to pick one."

Zane stared at him curiously. As did Kooper. "Why's that?" The koopa asked.

Goombario eyed the buzzard. "That's Buzzar. He's a tough bounty hunting bird, and something of a pain." He turned to Mario, "Maybe we should try talking ourselves out of a fight."

Mario nodded and turned to Buzzar. "Of course I'm not! We're another group just passing through! I'm not Mario! I'm his brother Luigi!"

Buzzar took that in for a second. "Hmm, Luigi, huh?" He considered this. "I suppose that makes sense..." He jumped as an idea came. "Hey wait a minute!" He glared at Mario apprehensively. "Then why are you wearing RED? Luigi never wears red!"

Mario kept his cool. "You'd be surprised! I thought I might try it on for size..."

Zane then had another one of those... 'Moments'. "YEAH!!! SO WHY DON'T YOU BUZZ OFF YA' TURKEY?!?!?" He said shaking his fist at Buzzar.

Everyone winced inwardly at that. Buzzar however gave a priceless look to Zane. His face turned red with rage at the toad. "WHAT DID YA JUST CALL ME, YA LITTLE CREEP?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

Zane growled a little. "You heard me damn well! NOW GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!"

Buzzar growled angrily himself... Before a look of realization came on his face. "Hey, wait a minite..." He reached behind him and pulled out the wanted poster again. He started to read aloud. "'Mario will be accompanied by a group of partners, one of the most recognizable, being a toad that starts arguments and fights at the drop of a hat.'" His eyes widened. "HEY!!!!" He dropped the wanted poster at that. "You match that description, Spore Head!!!" Zane growled angrily at that insult. He turned to Mario and glared at him resentfully. "And that means, THAT YOU'RE MARIO!!!!"

Mario rolled his eyes. "Thanks a lot Zane..."

Zane turned to him. "HEY!!! How was I supposed to know that this would happen?!?!?"

Buzzar flew up in the air. "Okay, Mario! Time for me to whoop you, but good!!! Once I turn you in, Bowser's goin' to give me one heck of a reward!!"

Mario pulled out his hammer, "You'll have to-a beat us first pal!"

Buzzar smirked. "Okay Pardner!! I'm gonna do just that!!" He squawked out a challenge. "You're mine!!" He zoomed forward...

* * *

_**(Right at that moment, the 'Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door' mini-boss music plays in the background.)**_

* * *

Kooper suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and tried to slam Buzzar. However, the giant bird-brain saw him, and immediately lifted off the ground. "You're gonna have ta' do better then that kid!!" He suddenly reached behind his back, and a gleam appeared in his eyes. He threw his wing forward throwing a small needle like feather at Kooper. The feather scratched Kooper's shell. 

"OWW!!!" Kooper pulled up to the side and checked out the scratch.

Buzzar chuckled at the scene... 'POW!!!' Mario stamped his boots into Buzzar's head. "Try that!!"

Buzzar shook his head quickly, to shake off the daze of the hit. "THAT'S IT PARDNER!!!!!!!!" He suddenly grabbed Mario with his talons. "I hope you're not afraid of heights!!! Cause you're GONNA be after I'm through with you!!!!" He started to lift Mario off the ground.

"HEY PUT ME DOWN!!!!" Mario shouted, his legs and arms waving wildly, true anime style.

"SOMERSAULT SLASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Came Zane's voice in a yell. WHAM!!!! Zane's foot nailed Buzzar in the head, causing him to drop Mario. To follow this, Zane placed a hand on Buzzar's head to push himself higher up and after grabbing a hold of the feather on Buzzar, he pulled hard to give himself some downward momentum and performing a downward kick to the giant buzzard's head, sending the bird hurtling to the ground.

Just before he hit the ground, Buzzar regained his senses, and flapped his wings to regain his balance. "GIT OFFA' ME YA' LITTLE PUNK!!!!!!!!!" He suddenly lifted high into the air, taking Zane with him, did a barrel roll to buck Zane off, and did a tough headbutt to send the toad hurtling to the ground, landing with a loud crash. "HA!!! TRY THAT!!!!"

'BONK'!!! Came a sound, when a brown creature wearing a blue cap 'Head-bonked' Buzzar. "YEOW!!!" This was immediately followed by another headbonk, then another, then another, then another. "OW!!!!! STOP THAT!!!!" And with that it stopped. "WHO DID THAT?!?!?!?" He turned upwards...

Floating above him was Parakarry, holding both Goombario and Bombette. "Bombette! You're up!" Parakarry said, before throwing Bombette at Buzzar, fuse lit.

Buzzar stared in disbelief. "What the-"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Buzzar was sent reeling at the explosion, spinning like wheel. "WHOA-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-OA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

While Buzzar was sent flying, Parakarry came back to the ground and placed Bombette and Goombario on the ground. "You guys wait here..." It was then he turned to Buzzar with a look of anger. "I'll handle this thick-headed bird." With that, he flew through the air, and gave a powerful kick to Buzzar's gut.

Zane slowly peeled himself off the ground. "Grrr... I'm gonna skin that bird alive for that..." He looked up... And saw Parakarry give Buzzar the powerful upward kick. "OWCH!!! THAT looked like it hurt!"

Mario ran up to the toad. "You okay, Zane?"

Zane got himself back up. "I'm fine." He seemed quite hurt, but he acted like it didn't bother him. "A little battered but fine..."

"GET HIM PARAKARRY!!!!! TEACH HIM WHO'S BOSS!!!!" Bombette yelled.

"BEAT HIM UP, PARAKARRY!!!!!" Kooper said, waxing his shell.

Buzzar immediately regained his senses after the kick. "GRAH!!!!!!!! I'll GITCHA FOR THAT, PARDNER!!!!" He reached behind his back and threw out more ninja star like feathers at Parakarry. Parakarry dodged the feathers and rounded around Buzzar giving him a powerful shell attack in his head. "OW!!!!"

"KICK HIS BUTT, PARAKARRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Zane shouted up at him, waving his fist at Buzzar.

Parakarry and Buzzar slammed into each other with flying hits. Parakarry in his shell, and Buzzar with his beak. After a few rounds, Buzzar changed things up by dodging Parakarry's attack and trying to grab him with his talons. Parakarry fell for the trick and was grabbed. "GOTCHA!!!" He was about to send Parakarry flying, but the paratroopa wasn't going down THAT easily. With a start, he started flying left and right. After a few rounds, the momentum of the moves were enough to cause Buzzar to spin left and right. "HEY!!! WHAT THE?!?!?!?" After one more round, Parakarry finally built enough momentum to cause Buzzar to spin wildly, as Parakarry spun him. "WHAT--THE--HECK--ARE--YOU--DOIN'?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" He said, each syllable being said as he made a full rotation. As the spin continued, one could swear Buzzar's face was turning green. "I don't feel so good..."

Buzzar let go of Parakarry upon saying that. "Now don't you EVER treat my friends the way you have EVER again!!!" He lifted himself up and plummeted himself back down in a shell spin. 'POOOOOOW'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Parakarry's shell slammed Buzzar's stomach since he was hanging upside down at that moment. Buzzar could only scream as he was sent plummeting, and the scream was cut off with a loud CRASH as he hit the ground.

"Oh..." Buzzar groaned, the all of his top body submerged. "I got whooped..."

Parakarry lowered himself back down to the ground. "Job done!"

* * *

_**(The 'Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door' mini boss music stops, and the victory tune from the same game plays.)**_

* * *

Buzzar slowly peeled himself out of the ground and turned to the others, who was giving him a stony glare. "Ow..." He said before noticing the glares. "GAH!!!! NO MORE, NO MORE!!!" 

Zane started to walk up to Buzzar. "I say we deep-fry this Bird."

Bombette nodded with an angry glare as well. "Sounds good to me..."

Buzzar held up his wings, to look like a pair of hands in a defensive manner. "No WAIT PLEASE, I implore you!!" The heroes stopped to stare at the bird. "It was nothing personal pardners! I just needed the gold coins! You see, hunting around Dry Dry Desert is hardly ever successful, and I tried to hunt in a plains area near Toad Town, but I was always driven away! So I thought that I needed gold coins to buy some land that I could hunt freely for food! You know, worms, carcases, and all that..."

Zane interupted sharply. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!! Any reason we should care for that?"

Buzzar started over. "Well, you see Pardners... I have eggs I need to look after. Baby vultures are going to hatch from those eggs soon, and I need food to feed them!!" The heroes stared at him questionably. "Look it's a long story, but EXTREMELY long story short, my wife disappeared one day, and that left me with a bundle of three eggs to look after."

Mario and the others stared at each other. "So please! Show me some mercy, pardners! I was only looking after my kids!"

Zane stared at Mario. "What do you think Mario?"

Mario nodded at the story. "It makes sense. I mean, he looks like he's telling the truth."

Goombario nodded to Mario's statement. "I agree with Mario."

Parakarry and Bombette nodded as well. Zane shrugged a little at this; looked like it was unanimous. Parakarry turned to Buzzar. "Don't worry... Buzzar, right?" Buzzar nodded. "We understand."

Buzzar lifted his head back up, and gave the heroes an excited gaze. "Really?!? Oh thank you pardners!!!" His two wings came together in a thankful fashion. "Really I thank you for understanding!" His head suddenly lowered again. "Oh, but what am I gonna do now? I still need some food for the kids..."

Mario walked up to Buzzar, "Don't you-a worry Buzzar!" The bird turned to Mario. "We're in the middle of something right now, but as soon as we're done and get everything back to normal, we'll talk to-a Princess Peach and I'm sure she can give you-a the help you-a need."

Buzzar smiled slightly. "Really?? Thanks! I'll hold you to that promise, Mario!" He sat for a second, before lifting himself off the ground. "Anyways I better get back to the eggs. They aren't gonna keep themselves warm. See ya later, pardners!!!" And with that, he took off back to his nest.

Parakarry smiled in a neighborly fashion. "Well, he was a rather upright and nice fellow, wasn't he?"

Zane shook his head. "Never mind that! Where'd you learn to fight like that, Parakarry?!?"

Parakarry scratched the back of his head bashfully. "Well, I've had to learn someway to defend myself! You'd be surprised how many people want to steal mail these days!"

Goombario smiled. "That, I'm willing to believe." He then walked further down the path that lead down the mountain. "So come on guys! The mountain hiking trail looks like it ends down these slopes! And that means Dry Dry Desert is ahead!"

Zane nodded as well. "Right as always, Goombario!" He ran after him. "Come on guys, LETS GO!!! Dry Dry Desert, then Dry Dry Outpost is the next stop on this trip!"

Everyone nodded at this and continued down the way. Zane began to think about what had just happen. Even after that fight with Buzzar, he felt like he and his friends had grown stronger. With Parakarry on their side, that's just what they did. After all what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. That's what his master said, and he believed it. He suddenly believed that this trip will actually go much more smoothly then first thought... ... ...

He would never know how WRONG he was until it was too late.

* * *

Meanwhile somewhere in the desert, Road Runner had, for the moment, stopped at the side of the road to take a little break from his run. Despite what most people, especially Wile E., believed, he did need a rest from his running every once in a while. He usually took one right after he KNEW Wile E. had went home to call it a night. As he took his breather, Road Runner took a look around the desert... Once more his thoughts turned to what had happened during his and Wile E.'s chase. That robed figure released some kind of monster, and whatever it was, it was huge. He could feel it. 

And while he was at it, he could feel something else wrong as well. Now that he took the time to look around, he could feel many bad things happening in the world. During his runs, he always cast aside all doubts and worries, and always focused on the sheer freedom, he could feel, as well as the wind running through his feathers as he exceeds speeds of 90 miles an hour or more. Why, he even came to enjoy the games of 'Cat and Mouse' that he played with Wile E., even if he wasn't aware of half the antics he tried. It wouldn't matter anyways as the guy was a magnet for trouble, and nearly all of the things he tries fails. True he had fought back on a FEW occasions, such as running him over with a bus, or scaring him off a cliff... There was even a time when Wile E., had found that magic book of spells, that he tried to use, failed to, and eventually left behind for one reason or another, and Road Runner himself found it, and used it on the coyote. Road Runner and even Wile E. to a point, knew it was partially for the challenge and fun, as well as for the game known commonly as Life and Survival.

Yet here, even this care-free creature could feel something extremely wrong happening. He could feel a threatening power in this desert, which he considered his running grounds... HIS home to a point.

"Um... Excuse me?"

Road Runner looked surprised for a second. He turned behind him to see a young girl wearing a dark blue ceremonious robe, with long ocean blue hair coming from a hole in the back of the hood. The girl gave the bird an unsure gaze. "Are you Mr. Road Runner?"

Road Runner stared at this girl confused. He got that she asked who he was, but why would she? Since Road Runner himself had human intelligence to a point, he nodded to the girls question remaining silent.

The robed girl nodded herself. "Good..." She looked around nervously. Apparently it wasn't like her to speak out, but something seemed to be troubling her. "I need your help with something..." She gave him a small gaze. "Are you familiar with an oasis here?"

* * *

Elsewhere... 

Wile E. quickly pieced together a complicated machine, following the instructions as best he could. Standing behind him was the same robed figure from before. His voice had an evil smirk like tone to it. _"How much longer?"_

Wile E. turned to the robed figure. "Hey! I may be a genius, but even these things take time!"

The robed figure shrugged. _"Don't you worry Wile E. . There's no rush. Even if my... current opponents come... They will not arrive in time to stop me. They don't even know I exist just yet."_ He turns to the dirt standing beside him and saw a gigantic glob of sand moving slightly. _"Besides, even if they come, my... 'Pet' will dispose of them."_

Wile E. stared at the robed figure. "You said you had some kind of boss... Who is he?"

The robed figure turned to Wile E. to stare at him. He smirked from underneath the hood. _"If I told you that, my furry mate... I'd have to kill you..."_ The beast, whatever it was in the ground beside him, growled in agreement.

Wile E. jumped. "Fair enough." He said quickly, immediately getting back to work. While doing as such, he picked up a blow torch.

_"Hold on a moment..."_ The robed figure said suddenly. He suddenly dug into his pockets and pulled out a small white box. He opened the box and pulled out, what looked like, much to Wile E.'s disgust... A Cigarette. _"Use that as a 'Lucifer'."_ he said holding out the cigar. _"Light it."_ Wile E. groaned as he lightly turned on the blow-torch and lit the cigar. Once he was sure it was lit, the robed figure very VERY slightly pulled up his hood to reveal his mouth, and placed the cigar in between his teeth. His mouth looked human enough. He smoked it as Wile E. worked. _"Heh, nothing like a good smoke, while a plan's coming together."_

Suddenly however, a very strange thing happened...

A shadow that belonged to neither Wile E. or the robed figure appeared.

Wile E. jumped, while the robed figure stared intensely at the shadow. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, then the shadow disappeared.

_"So these heroes have arrived..."_ He turned to the huge mass of moving sand, still hiding the beast. _"Go and stop em'. I want to find Dry Dry Ruins before they do."_ The creature roared loudly, and suddenly the sand returned to normal texture; whatever had been hiding underneath it was gone. He turned to Wile E. whom stared at him with wide eyes.

"WHAT... ARE YOU?!?!?" He asked with apparent fear.

The man smoked a little and blew the smoke into Wile E.'s face, causing him to cough in disgust. _"I'm your worst nightmare. We'll leave it at that. Cause, once again, if I told you... I'd have to kill you."_ He chuckled evilly and smoked some more. _"Though you should stop asking questions, and get back to work. Just cause my pet ain't around, doesn't mean you can't get hurt."_

And somehow, Wile E. didn't doubt him when he said that.

* * *

The heat was the first thing the heroes noticed. The desert sand reached out far as the eye can see, and a small white sand stone route could be seen going for a VERY long distance away. Goombario looked around the desert. "Well here we are, Dry Dry Desert." 

Parakarry floated forward. "Well lets get moving, Dry Dry Outpost is at the end of this road. And we'll probably find clues leading to Dry Dry Ruins there."

Mario nodded at that. "Makes sense. Lets-a get moving." And so the heroes continued down the road, the desert heat continuing to bare down on them, even as the sun slowly went down over the mountain.

They continued walking for a moment or so... before, they came across a tent to the side of the road with a radio, a TV and a few other items. "Who's tent do you think this is?

Parakarry "I do believe I've delivered a letter to this very tent... Hold on, let me remember..."

"Don't look so down old chaps! We'll find those ruins eventually!" a voice came suddenly.

Kooper suddenly jumped. "Oh... My... GOSH..."

Parakarry suddenly took on an inspired look. "Oh now I remember!"

After a moment, three new figures stepped into the tent, two of them, were common koopa archeologists, wearing explorer hats... But the third figure, was the one that had spoken. The third character was a koopa with an explorer's hat, a small mustache, and a tan shirt along with his green shell. The third koopa looked around in his tent and saw his new visitors. "Ah! We have visitors!"

"KOLORADO KOOPA!!!" Kooper shouted in surprise, and ran up to the third koopa, obviously Kolorado, and started to shake his hand. "My name's Kooper, and I'm such a HUGE fan!!"

Kolorado looked moderately surprised to hear this. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you! But what are you and your friends doing here by my tent?"

As introductions were passed around, the heroes got to know just why a famous archeologist was here in the desert. As it turned out, Kolorado was there for near the exact same reason the heroes were; he wanted to find Dry Dry Ruins.

"I've heard many great things about Dry Dry Ruins!" Kolorado exclaimed. "But hearing that Bowser's troops are defiling such a place, is making me quite angry myself." He turned to the heroes. "I was hoping to find Dry Dry Ruins and look around for artifacts that will provide clues of the past. You know, an archeologist's job and all that." He crossed his arms. "And you're looking for it, to get rid of Bowser's troops. We do share something of a common goal."

Zane nodded. "Exactly." He lounged a little, since he was sitting on the ground. "So, have you found it yet sir?"

Kolorado looked a tad bit annoyed. "No, actually. Makes me want to pull out my hair, if only I had any!" He took a breath to calm himself. "But I won't let it get to me. All we need to do is keep looking. 'Rome wasn't built in a day', and it won't take any longer to find such an elusive ruins."

Kooper stared at him. "Elusive Ruins?"

Goombario answered that saying this, "People have looked far and near for Dry Dry Ruins, but they've NEVER found it. People have claimed to have seen it, but the claims were immediately proven to be false."

Kolorado nodded. "Exactly! No-one has ever truely seen these ruins. I however, intend to be the one to find it!"

Mario smiled a little. "And since we're all looking for the same thing, we'll gladly help you!"

Kolorado waved him off. "Oh you don't have to!"

Parakarry floated up. "We wouldn't mind at all!"

Zane smiled himself. "Yeah, we were heading to Dry Dry Outpost. We could ask around there."

Kolorado looked surprised. "You ARE, are you? Well, I thank you kindly!" He crossed his arms. "Truth be told, I need all the help I can get. Me and my fellow explorers have been out here for days, and I'm quite sure my wife is missing me."

Kooper nodded at that. "Tell me about it. She visits my place whenever my parents are back from business trips and talks about it all the time."

Kolorado lowered his head. "I figured as much, she always worries." He smiled slightly. "But that only means she cares, after all." He shrugged. "Either way, if your going to the outpost, I really hope you find some answers. Cause, even though I feel like we're getting closer everyday, we still need to find some more clues as to where to look."

Mario nodded. "Don't you worry Kolorado, We'll-a be happy to help."

Kolorado nodded himself. "And for that I thank you."

Kooper suddenly walked up to Kolorado holding a notebook. "But before we get moving, can I have your autograph, Kolorado?"

Kolorado stared at Kooper before chuckling slightly. "Someone have a pen?"

* * *

Sometime later, the heroes were on their way. Kooper now had his notebook safe on his person; Kolorado's autograph written on the first page. 

Goombario looked around. "Kolorado said, that there will be a stone cactus halfway down the path. Once we see it we'll know that we're almost there."

Bombette, after making sure her 'Fire Shield' badge was pinned to her good enough to stay there, looked up into the sky, and saw night slowly starting to set into the sky; not all the heat was gone, but it was leaving slowly and surely. "Well, at least we didn't have to worry too much about the sun bearing down on us. Night's starting to come."

Zane nodded with a happy-go-lucky smile on his face. "See? We told ya' we could make it work, and we did! You didn't doubt us did ya'?"

Bombette shook her head. While she did doubt for a second that they wouldn't make it work, she somehow couldn't doubt it completely. "Thanks guys."

So they continued walking, one destination in mind... ... ...

They never noticed the sand slowly move as something dug right after them...

After a good thirty minutes or so of walking, the group found the so-called 'Stone Cactus' that Kolorado had told them about. Kooper walked up to the stone cactus and knocked on it. "This is the Stone Cactus alright."

Parakarry smiled. "Then that means we're almost there! Lets keep moving!"

Zane nodded himself. "Yeah le-"

He stopped so suddenly it was barely even funny. A feeling he had never felt before in his life suddenly came over him. "GUH!!" He grunted loudly, and suddenly hit his knees. This feeling... It felt like some senses had just went off... BIG TIME...

Mario and the others ran over. "ZANE!! What's wrong?!?"

Zane picked himself up; for some reason he couldn't see anything straight. His eyesight was blurry, his head seemed to swim, and his legs wobbled. "I don't know... This came out of the blue..."

**'RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'**

Everyone jumped at that, even Zane got back on his feet and turned to where the roar came from. "WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" Goombario, HIMSELF, asked.

He immediately wished he never asked...

THE SAND immediately SHOT UP 70 FEET INTO THE AIR, and SOMETHING EXTREMELY MASSIVE appeared from the mass of sand. It let out a humongous roar once more, allowing everyone to get a FULL whiff of it's foul breath. "WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" Zane yelled in panic.

Finally the sand cleared up revealing just what, in the HELL, they were dealing with.

Standing there, over 5 stories high, was a gigantic monster, with a beastly pair of pincers. It's face was like that of a lion with an insane looking reddish orange mane, insane looking yellow eyes, and a GIGANTIC ant-like torso, sinking into a sand sinkhole. Behind the pincers was a mouth lined by jagged yellow teeth, and ant-like leg appendages poking out of the sand.

And right now, the yellow eyes stared at the heroes with a look of blood-lust.

The heroes stared at the creature with a look of disbelief... ... ... ...

"Eep..!" Bombette said, eyes wide.

"Eep, is right..." Goombario said in equal surprise.

"Holy... Mary... Mother of..." Zane muttered in fear.

The creature let out a massive roar as it lunged forward in order to make the heroes it's next meal. The heroes immediately dodged aside. Zane and Goombario tried to run behind the giant monster. "GOOMBARIO!!!!! WHAT THE HELL, **IS THAT THING?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"**

Goombario pulled out his book, and immediately started flipping through the pages. "Hold on! It's gotta be somewhere around here..." He continued flipping through the pages for a second... Before his eyes widened. "This thing isn't in the book... THIS THING ISN'T IN THE BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

* * *

_**("Right now, the 'Final Fantasy 9 Boss Music' kicks in.")**_

* * *

The creature immediately turned around to glare at the two. It took a deep breath and let out a long deep breath, it's air looking pale brown. "That can't be good..." He immediately grabbed Goombario. "MOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He immediately jumped out of the way with Goombario in his arms, screaming all the way. A pokey that was unlucky enough to be in the way was hit by the breath broadside... And it turned to stone... You read right, the Pokey turned to FLIPPING STONE.

Goombario and Zane stared at the unbelievable sight. "Oh..." Zane muttered.

"My..." Goombario continued for him.

The Ant Monster's pointy leg-appendage planted itself next to Zane, almost impaling him. "YEOW!!!!!" He said, dodging it and throwing Goombario to safety as he did.

Mario jumped up to the creature and slammed his boots into the monsters head, using the Power Jump badge to increase the power of the hit. "Try that!!!!!!!!!!" He said jumping off.

The creature roared in pain, and tried to pick it's pincers with Mario. However, it stopped when it became aware of two hard things ramming it's side. It turned to see a green shell with wings, and a blue shell moving around the ground, slamming it. It hurt, but not too badly. It roared in annoyance and slammed them away with the leg appendage. The koopa's hit the ground in a slide. "Ow... That thing packs a punch..." Kooper said with a groan.

Zane, knowing Goombario was safe, turned to the monster and cracked his knuckles. "Okay, you ant, lion, whatever you are! TIME FOR ME TO KICK YOU'RE ASS!!!!!!!" He ran up to the creature, while it roared angrily. Suddenly, a strange circle of energy appeared in front of Zane. It was dark purple in color and clock symbols seemed to float around it. Zane stopped in his tracks and looked at the circle. "What the hell?"

Parakarry immediately ran up to the toad and pushed him aside. "Zane!!! MOVE!!!"

There was a weird sound and suddenly the circle of magic and energy exploded outward. Weird clock looking symbols slammed Parakarry and sent him flying backward. Bombette, whom went to check on Goombario, ran over to Parakarry. "Parakarry!! ARe you okay?!?"

Parakarry slowly got back up. "I-i-i-i-i-'m al-l-l-l-right..." He said... However, it sounded and looked like someone had hit the slow-motion button on the parakoopa, as every part of himself, INCLUDING his speech was moving like a slow-motion movie. Parakarry's eyes, in a slow-motion way, widened.

Bombette's eyes widened. "You've been slowed down!!" She waved him away quickly. "Get away! Quickly! You can't fight in this state!" Parakarry nodded, EXTRA slowly, and immediately started flying away... SLOWLY, if I may add.

Zane immediately saw what happened and got up. "Okay, AVOID Magic circles...Got it..." Using the Charge badge, he increased his attack power. He then ran up to the creature, and jumped up high in the air. "DRILL KICK!!!!!!!!!!" Suddenly, using the power of his 'Speedy Spin' badge, he started to twirl around, both feet pointed downward, and his body spinning like a drill. The 'Speedy Spin' Badge's power increasing the power of the spin of the attack.

SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Zane's kick nailed the creature in the head. It roared in pain, as it shook off Zane, and tried to counter by slicing Zane in half with it's giant pincers. However, a wooden hammer flew in from nowhere and slammed the creature in the side of the head. The creature roared in pain and annoyance as it tried to counter Mario's 'Hammer Throw' with a swipe with it's appendage. Mario jumped out of the way, grabbed his hammer as it bounced back to his hand and slammed the end into the monster's head. It yowled in pain, and tried using it's rancid breath to freeze Mario in place. However the plumber, after seeing what had happened to the pokey, dodged the breath and ran down it's back.

Zane landed near where Bombette was, and turned to her. "BOMBETTE!!!! Some of you're explosives would be nice!!!!!"

Bombette looked into the sky; the sun had finally went down over the mountains. She nodded, "Okay!" She took off the badge and handed it to Zane. "Here hold onto this! Time to get into the action!" Zane nodded and pocketed the badge, smirking.

"Go time!" Zane shouted, as Bombette lit her fuse.

"Give me a boost!" Bombette shouted. Zane picked up Bombette and threw her right at the monster's thorax.

KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bombette blew up with a mighty explosion. The ant monster yowled in pain, as Bombette was sent flying back towards Zane. It growled angrily and threw itself at the two to take a bite of them. They both dodged the attack, and Zane countered with a powerful kick, whipping up the 'Charge' badge, JUST BEFORE throwing the kick. The creature growled in pain and humiliation, and it swung it's head side-ways. This move was successful in slamming both Zane and Bombette backwards, crashing into the sand with a loud thud.

The both of them lay in a daze on the ground. Parakarry, his slow state healed, flew up and slammed his shell broadside into the ant monsters side. It mattered little, as the attack did barely anything. The creature roared in annoyance and swatted the paratroopa away. Goombario and Kooper ran up to the downed Zane and Bombette, whom were both getting back to their feet. "You guys okay?" Kooper asked, as they came up.

Zane shook his head, shaking off the dizziness of the last hit. "No worries, I'm okay."

Bombette nodded in agreement. "I am too..."

Parakarry got back up from being swatted away. Mario landed from another jump next to him. "Mario! We need a new plan else this thing will most likely make a meal of us!"

Mario knew that was true too. Their attacks may have been affective to a point, but this thing wasn't close to weakening yet. They needed to exterminate this bug, AND FAST.

The Ant monster thing roared as it let out another long, putrid breath. It was apparent that it KNEW feeding time was near. The prey was weakening, that it knew for sure. It gave the heroes a blood-lusting look, and reared back to finally eat it's feel...

-------------------------

-------------------------

BAD IDEA...

It found itself unable to push it's head forward. It growled in confusion. It felt the wind suddenly pick up astronomically.

The heroes widened their eyes in fear...

As if the scene couldn't possibly get any worse... A monstrous tornado with a transparent mouth lined with sharp teeth and evil eyes suddenly appeared, sucking up everything near it... The Ant-Lion mix monster being no exception.

It roared in agitation as it tried to pull itself away from the tornado to no success. After a few moments of fighting, the monster was sucked up into the tornado... Then the tornado turned to the heroes... It was more then apparent that they were next.

"RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Mario shouted.

That was all the inspiration needed for the group to get up and start running for their lives. However, it didn't matter, as the tornado was faster. The heroes tried to hang on and run, but they were sucked up into the funnel.

Once inside the funnel, they looked up to see the Ant monster looking down at them from the top of the funnel. It smiled evilly as it took a deep breath. The heroes eyes widened, knowing what would happen if that thing breathed out. "OH SHIT!!! WE'RE IN TROUBLE!!!!!" Zane announced. "WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!"

**"G-GUYS!!!!!"** Everyone turned to Bombette... Whom was shivering as if it was freezing in the tornado itself. "Warm!!! WARM!!!!"

Everyone stared at her questionably... Until they suddenly realized what she was talking about...

The air inside the tornado was warm... VERY warm... Warm like... Their eyes widened... DESERT HEAT...

The fuse on Bombette's head suddenly lit, not by her own accord... The Ant Monster prepared to breathe out it's putrid breath, to prepare his meal properly...

Outside the Tornado monster, it smiled satisfied by it's meal... The smile on it's face would never last...

Well, to put it very simply, the next few moments went a lot like this.

**KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-BBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

* * *

_**("At this point, the 'Final Fantasy 9 Boss Music' stops abruptively at the kaboom.")**_

* * *

The tornado monster roared in pain as the explosion took up it's very being... The Ant Monster stared down in surprise as the flames of the explosion, coupled by the desert heat in the tornado traveled up to it... The inferno took up the monster, and little by little, it was reduced to ash by the explosion...

As for the heroes, two seperate blurs were seen being sent flying from the Tornado, one in one direction, another in the opposite.

One blur consisted of Zane, Bombette, Kooper, while the other had Mario, Goombario, and Parakarry as they were sent flying in another direction. The one blur containing Zane and the others finally hit desert sand after a few moments of flight. Slowly, ever so slowly, the toad opened his eyes in a squint to see the tornado monster as well, as the Ant monster within disappear out of existence. He looked around, and saw Kooper, whom must've retracted into his shell at the last minute and Bombette whom appeared to be out cold, but otherwise alright. Finally, what happened hit him full throttle, and he hit the ground, sinking into unconsciousness.

* * *

Mario and the others meanwhile, had landed as well. Crashing into the sand, elsewhere. For the strictest few moments anyone EVER knew, none of the characters in Mario's half of the team moved, lying motionlessly on the ground... 

-------------

-------------

Mario's hand suddenly twitched, and the plumber shakily got up. "Mama Mia..." He said in a daze. He looked over to his team-mates; Goombario looked scratched but otherwise fine, while Parakarry, had retracted into his shell to protect himself from the blast. The parakoopa moved slightly, letting Mario know he was alright. The plumber nodded and slowly got back to his feet.

He looked around. "Where-a are we?" He turned around...

Sitting right behind him was Dry Dry Outpost, in all of it's glory.

He smiled lightly; they had made it! He was more then sure that Ant creature had been done in by Bombette's explosion... His face suddenly dropped. "Wait a minute!" He looked around, now noticing three members missing. "Zane? Kooper? Bombette?" He looked around frantically. "ZANE?!?!? KOOPER?!?!?! BOMBETTE?!?!?!?" He lifted his head to the heavens and yelled. "WHERE ARE YOU?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?"

* * *

Me: And there we have it folks! The next chapter of Paper Mario: Legend of the Star Rod! Boy, I really meant it when I said, time to turn up the heat! 

Otto: Was that the Antlion monster from the Final Fantasy games? What's it doing here?

Me: All in good time, Otto. (I smile mysteriously.) All in good time.

Wally: But of course, you know what this means Gantz.

Me: Oh right! I, Gantz Gun van Drake, do not, in any way, own the 'Giant Antlion' monster from the Final Fantasy series, or the series in particular. The good people of Square Enix hold custody over that!

Ace: (Is trembling in her seat.) Whoa...

Shin: (Is trembling himself.) Yeah... Whoa... (He stares at the picture of the robed figure, smoking the cigar.) HEY, I KNOW THAT GUY!!!! THAT'S!!!! (I suddenly tape his mouth shut.)

Me: (I whisper harshly.) KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!!! THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW NOW!!!(I turn to the screen and the audience.) All in all, I hope you guys have enjoyed this new chapter, 'Time to Turn Up the Heat!' (I give a peace Sign.) R&R People!

Wally and Ace: Until Next Update!!!


	17. Out of the Frying Pan

Me: And here we are with another chapter of 'Legend of the Star Rod'!

Otto: About time you got this done.

Me: (Sweatdrops.) Hey, cut me some slack, I needed a break from writing big projects, such as this and 'Crossover Bros Brawl'.

Wally: So whatcha' got planned Gantz?

Me: Glad you asked Wally. In this chapter, Mario, Parakarry, and Goombario find themselves in Dry Dry Outpost. While Zane, Kooper, and Bombette struggle to survive the desert wilderness. I won't tell anymore then that as I want to keep the surprises covered.

Ace: (Grimaces.) Looks like the secretive Gantz is here to stay...

Me: Also, to answer an earlier review from someone named Jordan, I am 17 currently. Anyways, now that we have THAT out of the way, I think it's time for the new chapter! Also before I begin, I'm also going to announce that the robed character you've been seeing is going to go through a slight dialogue change. In the past, he spoke normal english, in this chapter, and from now on, he'll be speaking with a more noticeable British accent, which I had time to practice in rough drafts. Now with no further things to say... ON WITH THE STORY!!

MMSB: (Is holding the remote for the screen.) Starting. (He pushes the play button.)

* * *

Chapter 16

Out of the Frying Pan...

* * *

Somewhere out in the desert... ...

A gigantic machine stood up on the sand, it's height was a grand thing, and it almost seemed to overlook the desert.

Sitting at the foot of it was Wile E. Coyote, struggling to catch his breath. He had spent most of the day fixing up that machine for some reason or another. Why?

The reason why appeared on screen, as the 'mysterious robed figure'. He continued to smoke a cigarette as he inspected the machine. _"You've done a fine job, Wile E. ."_ He turned to the winded genius. _"Dis' machine was built to scan the vibrations underneath and on top of the sand of the desert. With dis', finding the Dry Dry Ruins, will be a walk in the park." _

Wile E. wheezed in exhaustion. "What do you plan to do with Dry Dry Ruins?"

The robed man turned to Wile E. and grinned insidiously. _"The Dry Dry Ruins as' a certain artifact that I need... My master requests it."_ For some reason or another, he left it at that. _"You're services are no longer required, doggy. Now git!"_

Wile E. jumped at that. "What? That's it then? Just use me, then get rid of me?"

_"One would fink' you'd enjoy the thought."_ The robed figure said, teething the cigar.

Wile E. looked around. "Well, I do... But..." He looked around a little while. "I almost thought that you'd feed me to that giant monster of yours..." Wile E. froze at that thought, suddenly realizing what he had so stupidly done.

The robed figure's visible mouth broadened out in a grin. _"Excellent idea. You know... You're probably the first gobster to EVER ask for the grizzlier fate. I don't know whether your a genius or a complete idiot..."_

Wile E. started to sweat obscenely. "WAIT! I didn't mean it!! I was just confused! I thought that's what all villians did!" He thought about that. "You certainly looked like the kind of guy..."

The figure laughed greatly, the smoke from his cigar being pushed out with each exhale. _"You truely are an idiot. I'm not the kind of man to just use whoever I want, and keel' im' afterwards, just cause I feel like it." _He turned to Wile E. a smirk growing on his face. _"I'm not one of the more psychotic villians you've seen on the 'telley'. I ave' umanity' in me, and I ave' no reason to keel you over." _He removed the cigar from his mouth as he continued. _"You see... The reason be'ind it is simple..." _He placed the cigar back into his mouth, got right into Wile E's face and gave him a creepy smirk. _"O's' going to believe a loser, like you?"_ He snapped his fingers...

Immediately after he did, a shadow appeared beside Wile E. He didn't even have time to register what was happening before a big black clawed hand suddenly appeared out of the shadow. "HUH?!" He didn't have time to run for his life before the mysterious hand grabbed the poor coyote. "Uh... Oh..." With a mighty jerk, the shadowy hand threw Wile E., causing him to fly like a rocket ship over the horizon, screaming all the way.

The hand disappeared into the shadow, after it had registered that the unknown individual was gone. The man under the robe chuckled evilly as he continued to smoke his cigar. _"Degenerate moron..."_ He turned to the shadow and stared deeply at the mysterious blackness...

His eyes widened in surprise. _"Those blasted guv's destroyed my monster?!" _He slapped his forehead. _"Good elp' is so ard' to find d'ese days..."_ However, as if something caught his attention, he turned back to the shadows and saw something else, though what was impossible to see. After a moment of looking, a smirk came back on his face. _"I suppose if anyfing', SOME good news came out of dis'." _He chuckled evilly. _"The eroes' ave' been seperated... Dat'll' keep dem' distracted... For a time..." _His chuckle continued for a moment before he snapped his finger once more...

The shadowy, clawed, hand that had thrown Wile E. away reappeared from the shadow, it's mate appearing alongside it. The man smirked, the cigar clamped between his teeth, as the shadowy hands easily lifted the machine off the ground. _"Search the desert... Leave no bloody stone unturned."_

A dark growl sounded from the shadow before the hands disappeared into the shadow, taking the machine along with them. The shadow disappeared the same as it appeared...

The robed man snickered evilly. _"Now den'..."_ The camera suddenly moved from his face, where only his mouth was visible, and moved down to his chest, bringing his face out of view. With this done, the man did something not to be believed.

He removed his hood...

He chuckled, _"I believe a trip to Dry Dry Outpost is in order... Boy, am I ungry'..." _He chuckled as he took a puff from his cigar... And on the exhale, blowing out the biggest cloud of smoke one could ever see! The smoke cloud covered his entire being, and suddenly flew off into the sky. The space where the robed figure stood, was empty, most likely gone with the smoke. His fiendish laughter filling the air, as he left.

* * *

The desert... It's profound size alone would be enough to intimidate a lot of people, and it's heat is even worse then it's size... Out of all these facts, there's definately one thing that one could know... No-one would want to get lost in such an unforgiving wasteland.

That's the very and only thought that seemed to run through Zane's head.

When he was awaken by the shouts of his friends early that day, Zane had spent a few good hours of the day cursing up a storm about their rotten luck. Not only had the tornado separated him, Bombette, and Kooper from Mario, Goombario, and Parakarry, but whether the tornado was at fault or not, he had lost the 'Fire Shield Badge' the night before. Thus leaving Bombette vulnerable to the Desert heat.

At this point, Kooper and Bombette were under the shade of a rock the group had found earlier. Kooper was fanning Bombette with his hands as best he could, desperate to keep her cool, else she exploded in response to the heat. Zane, whom took the heat as nothing more then a technicality, left the shelter point to look around. He had desperately hoped that the tornado had not blown them to far from the main path between Mt. Rugged and Dry Dry Outpost. Unfortunately, he was unable to see any sign of the desert trail, and that only made finding Dry Dry Outpost all the harder. It wasn't made any better when he remembered that the others were gone as well.

Zane scowled under his breath. "Dammit... We're a lot more lost then I thought..." He continued looking around. He crossed his arms now in deep thought. "How are we supposed to get to Dry Dry Outpost now? We'd be lucky to survive the desert heat for a day." He groaned. "We'll have to travel by night-fall. It may be our only chance."

Upon reaching that conclusion, Zane walked back to the shaded area where Bombette and Kooper stayed. Kooper looked to Bombette as he fanned her. "You okay Bombette?"

Bombette nodded, as she took deep cleansing breaths. "Yeah, so far so good."

Kooper sighed in relief. "Good." As he continued fanning the bob-omb, he smiled a little. "But still, even though we got separated from Mario and the others, that was pretty cool how you vaporized that giant monster."

Bombette lowered her head. "Yeah, and nearly killing everyone else along with it."

Kooper flinched when he remembered that. "Yeah... I guess so..." A second later, he lifted his head to Bombette, a smile on his face. "But no one, aside from the monster, ended up being hurt. So that's some good news."

Zane cleared his throat as he came into the shaded area along with the koopa and bob-omb. He sat down and crossed his arms, "As near as I can tell, we landed a great distance away from the path in every direction." He sighed a little. "Our only hope is to travel by nightfall." He pulled out a small rope from his backpack. "But before we can find ourselves at Dry Dry Outpost, we must first find the path. We'll use this rope to keep track of how to get back to this rock when we run out of inches."

Kooper nodded. "Until we get back on the path, that's all we can do."

Bombette looked like she was close to tears. "I'm sorry... This is my fault..."

Zane turned to her, and smiled kindly. "We're not looking for someone to pin the blame Bombette. Nobody blames you for what happened. If anything we should be thankful." He looked out to the desert from the shadow of that rock. "At least that monster, WHATEVER THE HECK IT WAS, won't be able to cause anyone else any trouble."

Kooper nodded in wholehearted agreement. "That's what I was trying to say earlier Bombette."

The bob-omb girl looked at her two friends for a moment, before sighing. "Thanks guys..."

Zane looked back to the two. "Besides as soon as we find Mario and the others we can get back on track to finding the next Star Spirit." He put the rope back into his bag, sighing. "Until nightfall comes we might as well get comfy, cause we're not going anywhere."

Bombette thought for a moment. "Wait a minute..." She stood to her feet after a second. "You shouldn't let me stop you from searching for the path right now."

Zane looked at her. "Bombette, we need to stick together. Cause out here? The only ones we can depend on now is each other." He lay down on his back, hands behind his head in a laid back fashion. "We'll wait till nightfall, before we begin looking. That way, none of us are left by ourselves."

Kooper nodded in agreement. "He's right you know..."

Bombette looked at them a moment, as if wanting to say something else, before sighing and sitting back down. "Okay... Nightfall it is then."

Things were quiet for a little while...

Hissssssssss...

The group lifted their heads, curious at the sound. "What was that?" Bombette asked her tone worried. And she had good reason to be...

Not every animal made a hissing sound.

Hissssssssss...

Zane jumped back to his feet, nearly hitting his head on the over hanging rock. "What the heck?!" He had felt something slide across his arm.

Hissssssssss...

Kooper and Bombette jumped as well. Kooper, because he had felt a slimy thing slither across his arm, while Bombette just jumped when she heard the hissing sound escalate. The three slowly turned around to see what was going on behind them. "What was that?" Kooper asked nervously

Right behind them was what looked like a tiny hole in the ground... Though what was coming out of the hole was what caught their attention.

Coming out of the hole was a snake. It was a huge creature that was nearly three feet around. It had dark red skin with two fangs coming out of it's mouth. Not one of the group needed Goombario around to know that this creature was a Cobrat, a dangerous desert snake...

However, it was accompanied by five others that must have been burrowed under the dirt, asleep... That is, until the heroes had disturbed their sleep.

"What the hell are a bunch of cobrat doing here?!" Zane shouted as the three backed away from the creature. Bombette was the first to feel the desert heat on her head.

Kooper felt the heat too. "This is probably those cobrat's home!"

'HISSSSSSS!!' The cobrats replied angrily; apparently Kooper wasn't too far from the truth. "What do we do?? I can't step out into the desert without exploding randomly..." Bombette said, stopping in her tracks.

HISSSSSSSS!! The Cobrats hissed angrily. "We don't have much choice..." Zane said, realizing their chances of taking on a group of cobrats would lead to a minimal chance for survival.

Bombette gulped, realizing that Zane was right. "Oh..." She moaned worriedly. She knew she had no choice, but she also knew what would happen should she step out into the desert heat. She took a deep breath. "Well, here goes..." That was the last thing said, before Bombette jumped backwards out of the shade, and right into the very thing she feared. The second she landed, she shook, half expecting to blow up on the spot...

No explosion came.

She opened her eyes, confused as to what was going on. "You okay under there Bombette?" Kooper asked. Bombette looked up to see Zane and Kooper holding a coat over her as they backed into the desert. As they did, the Cobrats hissed at the three angrily, while remaining in the shade of the rock they was holed up in. Most likely, in their language they were shouting, 'And don't come back!'. Upon making that point clear, the cobrats retreated back into the shade of their comfy rock home.

Zane groaned loudly. "So much for staying within a reasonable distance of shade..."

Kooper groaned as well. "Well, now what do we do?"

Zane looked around, hoping to spot another rock face somewhere in the distance... However, he might as well have been trying to find a needle in a haystack, because all he saw was sand for miles around in every direction. "Damn..."

Bombette shivered under the blanket. Though the sun was not baring down on her 'cause of the coat, she still felt vulnerable under it, due to the heat of the desert. "We should find SOMETHING if we go in one direction."

Kooper shook his head. "But if we randomly wander, we'll just get even MORE lost..."

"Like we have much of a choice." Zane said with an impatient tone. "If we stay in this sun we'll end up passing out from the heat." He readjusted his grip on the coat he and Kooper held over Bombette, to get a better grip on it. "We might as well move and stop arguing about it." He sighed and turned to Kooper. "Okay, we'll both move at the same speed so we don't end up pulling each other down. And remember, we can't, under any circumstances, let the sun shine on Bombette. She's a virtual time bomb out here."

Kooper nodded, readjusting his grip on the coat as well. "Okay." He looked down at Bombette. "Don't you worry Bombette." He said as they started walking along the desert. "We'll get out of this eventually."

Bombette averted her gaze as they walked. It was apparent that she wasn't so sure about that anymore...

To say the least, those first few hours through the desert, outside the path had turned out to be everything Zane and the others thought it to be.

It was hot, for one. Now I'm not talking about your average, summer-time, on a beach, hot... I'm talking about molten, blood boiling, skin blistering, 'GEEZE LOUIS! This might as well be HELL!' kind of hot. Okay, that was exagerated, but still it was hot. Aside from that, there were cacti every few miles, gracing the desert with the water hidden inside their hard prickly hides. Out of all of these details though, the sand was what really got on the groups nerves. Whenever they took a step, the sand would sink a few centimeters causing sand to get into their shoes. And since the sand was as hot as the sand you normally find on the beach, it would've blistered their feet had it not been for the socks they had on underneath their shoes. What's more, no matter how far they walked, no relief from the blood boiling heat in the form of shade could be found...

Did I mention how hot it was in that god forsakened desert?

"Jeeze..." Zane swore to himself, sweating up a mighty storm. "This is ridiculous... You'd think we would've found SOMETHING by now..." His voice was coarse, most likely from the lack of water he was facing, and his throat was getting dry.

Kooper was sweating obscenely himself, just struggling to keep up with Zane. "Zane... Do you see anything yet? A rock, a town, a camel... ANYTHING..?"

Zane swore silently, "No... And I feel like if we don't SOON, I'm going to suffer from a stroke..."

Kooper started panting like a dog. "Same here..." He said in a whiney tone. He cleared his throat trying to clear out some sand that he had gotten in his mouth, before turning to Bombette, whom had pretty much remained silent under her shade. "How are you holding up under there Bombette?"

Bombette looked no more depressed then she did when they started this little trek. "I'm handling this no better then you two are..." She was trying to keep herself cool by taking deep cool breaths. If one thought it was impossible for a bob-omb to sweat, they'd have their proof by looking at Bombette. "I hope we find something soon..." She sighed, and started whispering to herself. "My fault... All my fault..."

Kooper heard it though. "Hey don't beat yourself up about this whole thing..."

The toad looked at Bombette with a sympathetic look, "Bombette, it wasn't your fault. You have to know that okay?" Bombette looked up at him as they continued to walk. "No-ones to blame for what happened, it was merely an accident." He smiled a little. "Besides, we aren't dead yet! So long as we're still standing, we'll find shelter, I know it!"

* * *

It was only hours later that Zane had thrown away THAT optimistic enthusiasm.

**"WHAT IS WITH THIS GOD-DAMN DESERT?!"** Zane yelled to the cosmos, not hoping in the least that someone could hear him. Even after all of that ground covered, it felt like the group had been walking around in circles. They encountered no rocks, no mountains, no villages, no towns... Hell, they hadn't even seen any cacti since an hour back.

Kooper was panting up a storm, so thirsty he could almost feel his tongue cracking. He looked to the sky and saw the sun was now directly above them. No doubt that it was now in it's noon position. "Zane... I need to rest..." His legs were shaking like jello as he tried to stay on his feet. Bombette was just as weak as the two boys were, even though she hadn't been in the sun.

"Zane, we're exhausted... We'll never keep up this way..." She said to him.

Zane only growled. "If we stop now, we're just going to DIE out here from heat-stroke!" He turned to Kooper and Bombette. "And I don't know about you, but I am NOT about to become a corpse for a lizard or a cobrat to pick off of!" He grasped the coat tighter. "We're not giving up just yet! Come on guys!" Having said that, with exhausted party members in tow, Zane continued through the desert.

* * *

A few minutes later...

Zane and the others continued on their trek through the desert, though the effects of the desert heat looked like they were starting to get to them. Zane and Kooper looked like they had had one long day at the beach, as they were a little , if not very, sunburned. Bombette looked just as bad as the two boys, the heat was starting to get to her as well. Not enough to cause her to explode, but enough to make her as exhausted as her friends.

"Guh..." Zane groaned, as he continued the walk. It was like he was walking, but was no longer conscious. Kind of a zombified kind of thing.

The desert heat continued to bare down on the three friends, looking like it would go on for a lot longer period of time...

Until, finally, Zane took a step... And collapsed. He had stepped on a bit of sand that was a little bit deeper then the others, and it had caused him to trip. Kooper went next, toppling over his own feet, and hitting the sand. This, in turn, caused the coat they were carrying to fall on top of Bombette. "Uh guys?" She asked, her voice sounding woozy. "So warm..." That was the last thing said, before Bombette passed out too, coat on top of her, blocking out the sun, a final mercy in a way.

Zane coughed, face down in the sand, and tried to get back up. All of his energy was gone however, from lack of water, so he barely reached three inches before feeling the sand on his face again. "Guys..." He croaked, trying to roll over to see what was going on. From where he lay, he could see Kooper laying on his stomach, his chin on the sand and his face staring out at the horizon. While Bombette was buried under the coat, no doubt unconscious. The boy knew he needed to get up and fast. So he tried once again to get back up. He actually managed to make it to his knees before his body gave in and he hit the sand once again.

Zane coughed once more as he tried to force his arms to obey, but they did nothing of the sort, and lay numbly at his side. "Sensei... Help..." Zane croaked, when he realized what was happening. Tears formed in his eyes, as he lay back on the ground, never minding the sand. "Honorable Star Spirits... I wish... I wish..." He wheezed out, thinking that one good wish could help them, though he doubted it to be true. "I wish that... You would save us... Please..."

And with that, darkness took over his sight, and Zane T. knew no more...

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"Hey! Look at this!" _1_

"What is it Scout? ... ... Holy..! Jem! Come take a look at this!" _2_

... ...

"Well, well... What have we here? Some foolish travelers?"_3 (Jem)  
_

"How do you think they got so far away from the path?" _1 (Scout)  
_

"I'm guessin' that monster tornado got to em'... Son of a gun takes more lives these days then any monster in the desert." _3 (Jem)  
_

"What do you think we should do with them?" _2_

"... ... Well Dill, we can't very well ignore them. Master Cloak could sense lies in a heartbeat... ... We should probably take them with us... ... ... Scout, you take care of the bob-omb... That one under the coat." _3 (Jem)_

"Yes sir bro! ... ... Boy, she feels like she just cooked in the oven..." _1_ (_Scout)_

"Most likely cause she did. I got the koopa!" _2 (Dill)_

"Then I guess I'm stuck with the toad... ..." _3 (Jem)_

Even in the deepest unconsciousness, Zane felt a rough hand grab him by the arm and pick him up to his feet till his arm was slung over the young man's shoulder.

"Come on you two, these guys will probably suffer from heat-stroke like the rest of us, if we don't get home quickly." _3 (Jem)_

"Coming bro!" _1 (Scout)_

"Yeah, coming!" _2 (Dill)_

Zane's consciousness was lost once again as soon as he heard that.

* * *

"Okay, we'll be having the 3 shroom cakes with fresh water on the side for each." Mario said, ordering his and his friends food. The waiter at the restaurant nodded at the order, and posted the notepad on the desk for the chefs to fix up the food.

Ever since that morning, Mario and the others were making plans to start looking for their lost friends, all the while recovering from their fight with that giant mysterious monster that had tried to kill them merely last night. Goombario and Parakarry were sitting at a table at the restaurant waiting for the food to be ready. Goombario appeared to be looking through his 'Tattle Journal', for what reason was unknown.

Mario rejoined them after ordering the food and picking up their order number, they were the ninth customers for the lunch rush, so the number was predictably 9. "The food will be-a coming in a moment."

Parakarry nodded at that. "Good. I need something to eat after that weird little happening in the desert." He reached over his shoulder and let his hand run over the scratch that he had received from the fight with that powerful 'ant-lion monster'.

Goombario only regarded Mario with a nod, before continuing to look through his book. Mario stared at the goomba in curiosity. "What are you looking at Goombario?"

Goombario looked up at him. "It's actually more of a matter of what I'm LOOKING for." He closely examined the pages of his journal looking through each and every last entry.

The plumber thought for a moment, before figuring out what he was looking for. "Are you looking for that weird monster that attacked us in the desert? You said you couldn't find any entry for it, anywhere right?"

Parakarry shrugged, as he regarded that. "Maybe you were just going throught the pages so fast you just missed it."

"But that's just it..." Goombario said, answering Parakarry's thought. "I've already checked through it..."

Mario thought about that. "Maybe you just-a missed it somehow. I mean, that-a book of yours hasn't steered us-a wrong before, when it comes to-a monsters..."

Goombario shook his head as he finished the book and put it down. "You didn't let me finish... I've already checked, double checked, triple checked... Heck, I even just finished quadruple checking it; reading every last word, entry, and reference." He turned to Mario, looking more then a little worried. "There was NOTHING regarding any monster that even RESEMBLED what we saw."

That caused Mario and Parakarry to look at each other, equally worried. "Nothing? ... At all?" Parakarry asked with a whimper.

Goombario shook his head. "No, nothing..."

Everything remained silent for a moment...

Mario looked around nervously. "Wow... This is bad..."

Their mailman friend looked somewhat frightened at what he had heard. "But how can something THAT big not be noted in your book?? I mean, that's the most detailed encyclopedia in history! It just doesn't make sense!"

Goombario nodded, "That's what I thought." He snuck a peak at his 'Tattle Journal' before continuing. "That's why I'm considering visiting the library when we get back to Toad Town. Maybe they have the proper information there."

Mario nodded. "Yeah, Russ T. would likely be able to help you find what you need."

Goombario nodded himself. "Yeah, hopefully."

--

At the front of the restaurant, talking to the waiter was what appeared to be a bandit. The bandit had a long brown robe, with a white mask, and had spiky brown hair coming from his hood. He also had a cigar in his mouth, smoking a little as he ordered. "Yeah, one Super Shroom with a Tasty Tonic, and I want it sometime before the end of the day if you please." He had a rough and sarcastic tone, a bully type most likely.

The waiter nodded at the bandit. "Yes sir Kingsley. We'll have it out on time..." The bandit with the cigar, known as Kingsley, nodded at the waitress and left for the smoking section of the restaurant. The waiter placed the order on desk and scowled. "With a big glob of spit on every bite." He finished with an infuriated growl.

With Kingsley, he walked past the table with Mario and friends and found himself at the smoking section. So far, no-one really smoked in Dry Dry Outpost, so he had an entire section all to himself. He chuckled a little as he took his seat and awaited his food to be done...

The sound of someone stuffing his face came to Kingsley's attention. He turned to the sound to see what was going on...

Sitting at the table opposite of him was what appeared to be a human, tall and in his middle age, maybe around his 30's or even 40's. He wore a white turban on his head, had dirty blond hair with a mustache and goatee, and wore Arabian looking garbs like most everyone in Dry Dry Outpost.

"Who's that guy?" Kingsley asked himself, whilst staring at this new person. Humans were pretty rare in the Mushroom Kingdom after all.

After a moment, the human, taking his attention away from his meal, turned and saw the bandit staring at him. "What are you looking at?" He asked with a deep tone, a snarling frown on his face.

Kingsley grimaced, when the human asked that. This human dare speak to him like that? "Who are you to ask me that?"

The human gave a grimace of his own that was deeper then even the Kingsley's. "Dat's none of you're concern." He turned back to his meal giving a pompous look. "It's not polite to stare, you should know dat'."

Kingsley growled at what he had just heard. "What's wrong with my manners?!" He answered his own question with a small burp which seemed to come from nowhere, and not saying excuse me or anything.

The human grimaced, before continuing with his food. "Oh shut your bloody klaptrap! Just leave me to eat."

The bandit growled angrily at this human. "Why I oughta..."

"Number 9! Your food is served!" The waiter called from the front desk. Kingsley looked at his number and saw that he was number 10. He frowned, looks like he'd have to wait just a little longer.

Mario came up to the front desk and picked up the tray of food. "Thank you." He said, before returning to his table with the others.

The only one who noticed Mario was the human whom had insulted Kingsley. He eyed Mario dangerously, like a cat with the hunters eyes, tail swishing back and forth. "Ah, dere you are..." He turned back to his food after a moment. "Too bad I didn't come with a second monster, else I'd get rid of 'im 'ere and now." He groaned a little. "Ah oh well. I need to stay 'idden anyways..."

So he continued eating, never minding that the enemies of his master were inside the same restaurant.

* * *

The view once again shows the desert; panning along the sandy masses where a few cacti are surviving in the intense heat...

'BEEP BEEP!' ZOOM!!

Running along the sandy masses at a break neck pace, Road Runner appeared, moving as fast as he could go. Though Road Runner's mad dash through the desert wouldn't be the ONLY thing that would catch attention.

Riding on Road Runner's back, despite what most people believe, was a familiar robed figure, using one hand to keep a hold of one of Road Runner's head feathers, and the other trying it's best not to loose it's grip on the hood that was over her head. Meriee Merlon rode on the back of Road Runner, trying her best to hang on... Both to Road Runner, and her lunch since she was moving faster then any convential vehicle. "Have to... Keep moving..." She groaned as she held on, her face turning a light green.

Finally, Road Runner came to a stop, and Meriee gratefully fell to the ground off of the bird, allowing herself to throw up from the immense G-Force she felt during the trip.

The place Road Runner had stopped at was an Oasis... A real life, honest-to-god oasis. The beautiful little spring stood out majestically in the desert, a light of hope to any lost and weary traveler to find it. The spring was surrounded by a small circle of grass, that had maybe 5 or 6 trees, you read right, trees, two of them fruit trees, the rest palm trees. The trees had the most ripe fruits to be behold, and they stood out beautifully among the green leaves of the trees. The final thing to catch attention though, would have to be what was floating a few feet next to the spring, a few feet off the ground. Floating there was what appeared to be a glass box outlined with gold trims, and inside it was a peculiar blue glow that seemed to radiate with power. This item was none other then the powerful Super Block. An item with an immense power, that is said to grant it's strength increasing magic to any who wished to use it.

After a few moments of hurling out her guts, Meriee crawled over to the spring and, scooping up a little in her hands, used it to wash out her mouth. She then took another handful and drank it, thankful to finally find some decent nourishment. She turned to Road Runner. "Thank you for bringing me here."

Road Runner shrugged his feathered shoulders as a way of saying 'Ah, no problem.'

Meriee nodded at the bird, before turning to the trees that were growing fruit. "Those guys may not know it now, but they will need those." She walked over to the tree with bright green limes growing on it's branches. She twirled her finger around, causing a bit of dusty wind to follow her finger. _"Sharp winds of the west... 'Air Slash'."_ She pointed her finger up the tree causing the wind to launch upward. It hit a branch with a few good limes on it, causing it to rock a little...

However, no fruit fell.

Meriee lowered her head in disappointment. "Man..." She put her hands together in a prayer like fashion. "Forgive me grandfather, I still haven't gotten that spell down yet..."

Road Runner smiled a little in understanding, and walked over to the tree himself. With a slight movement, he kicked the tree, sending a rumble to vibrate up the wood... Limes fell from the tree in droves. Meriee managed to catch a few before they hit the ground. "Thank you, Mr. Road Runner." Road Runner nodded, only happy to help.

Another minute or so later, Meriee had gathered a few limes, as well as lemons from the second tree. As soon as she gathered a few and placed them in her backpack, she eyed the Super Block floating over the edge of the water and land. "Hmmm... A Super Block..." She walked over to the Super Block and looked at it a while. "They could probably use it... But they'll never find it here..." She thought a moment. "I better take it with me."

She moved under the block, and closed her eyes. "I don't want the power, I don't want the power, I don't want the power." She chanted, making sure it was dead-set in her mind. She then jumped up into the air, and grabbed the box, pulling it down with her as she came down. "Someone else needs it." She placed the box into her bag, and walked back over to Road Runner. "Okay I have what I need. All we need to do now, is head for the Desert Rose Settlement, far to the north of here, then Dry Dry Outpost afterwards." She looked at him with an unsure look. "You wouldn't mind taking me there would you?"

Road Runner smiled in understanding. "Beep Beep!" He turned around a little, and lowered himself down allowing Meriee to mount him. Meriee hesitantly got on, remembering how her last trip went.

"O-Okay..." She grabbed one of Road Runner's head feathers, and used the other hand to keep a firm grip on her hood. "Ready..."

Road Runner nodded, as he raised himself back up. His feet moved as fast as tires, making them look like a round orange blur. "Beep, BEEP!" That was the last thing before disappearing at an extreme speed.

* * *

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Darkness covered the scene, showing absolutely nothing...

"You found him in the desert, did you Jeremy?"

"(Groan.) I told you dad, you don't have to use my full first name. You can just call me Jem."

"Ah, yes, I remember. Sorry son. Anyways, they looked pretty bad when you brought them here. But the medics did their best job and took real good care of them. They will be fine."

Light seeped through the darkness and slowly, the person's eyes opened.

The person to which the first person perspective looked saw that he was in what looked like a cave looking room. The walls and ceiling were entirely made of stone, and their appeared to be a glowing crystal lighting the room. The view looked around until it saw two figures standing in the shadows. The camera rounded around till the person who had awoken was in view.

Zane stared dazily at the two figures curious as to what they were talking about. One of the figures appeared to turn to him, before jumping slightly. "Dad! He's awake!"

The second one turned to Zane as well. "So he is." He said, his voice sounding old, almost ancient to a point.

The two figures walked into the light...

And Zane jumped clean out of his bed when he saw who they were.

They were creatures that appeared to be people wearing thick robes, and wore white masks over their faces. They were Bandits.

"What the hell?!" Zane said as he got to his feet and raised his hands to defend himself. "Back off the both of you! I'm not afraid of fighting a couple of bandits like you!"

The first figure jumped. "Whoa!!" He quickly pulled out what appeared to be a well rounded stick with bandages covering the middle. A bo-staff by the looks of it. "Put down your doggone fists! We're not about to fight you!" Zane examined this bandit; He appeared around his age, if not a year or two younger, was right around his height, wore green robes, and had a tuft of light brown hair coming from underneath his hood, on top of his head.. His mask was normal white, and the green robe reached his brown boots on his feet. His voice sounded somewhat western, like out of those old fashioned western movies, teenage, yet sounded something like a country boy.

"Yeah right!" Zane said with a frown. "All you bandits want is to fatten your pockets. And unthankfuly for you, I am NOT in a charitable mood today."

The young bandit growled angrily, apparently, what Zane had said had hit a nerve. **"Not all bandits are like that!!"**

Both boys growled at each other for a moment... "NOW THAT'S ENOUGH!!" A rough pair of hands forced the two apart. The hands belonged to the second figure, which was another bandit. This bandit, though, was obviously older then the younger one. While he had green robes like the younger one, he had a white beard on the bottom half of his mask, and wrinkles near everywhere. It was almost a surprise that he was able to push hard with those frail looking hands. "Jem. You can't blame the boy for making a first impression of us this quickly. Bandits aren't exactly the most well-liked people in the kingdom."

The younger bandit, known as Jem, put down his bo-staff. "Well... I know that dad... But..."

The old bandit smiled. "It's okay, Jem. I will explain to him." The old man turned to Zane, giving him a gaze. "I can quite assure you we are not here to hurt you." Zane stared at him. "We found you and your friends in the desert, about to bite the dust from heat stroke." He motioned to Jem, and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "As a matter of fact, it was my son, Jem, that saved you and your friends lives."

Zane stared at them for a little while... "You saved us?"

"Yeah..." Jem said, crossing his arms. "You little punk, you should be thankful."

Zane looked at the boy a little while, letting this sink in... He put his fists down. "I see..." He suddenly looked around. "Where are they anyways??"

The old man smiled. "The koopa and the bob-omb girl are fine. They are exploring the city with Jem's younger sister Scout, and her friend Dill. Scout and Dill were with Jem when they found you." He explained making it easier for Zane to understand.

Zane took that in, lowering his shoulders. "Heh..." He lifted his head, looking somewhat bashful. "Then I guess I owe you an apology..." He lifted a hand to Jem. "The name's Zane. It's a pleasure to meet you... Jem, right?"

Jem nodded and took Zane's hand. "Bandit Jeremy is ma' full name." He shook the hand. "Though you should call me Jem. Everyone does." He then pointed his thumb at the old bandit behind him. "And that's my pa, Old man Cloak."

The old bandit took a bow, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Zane."

Zane took in the two characters for a moment. He didn't know why, but he felt like he could trust these guys... As if he had seen them before... But just where, was beyond him. He shook it off. "Yes, pleasure to meet you too." He looked around. "So where are my friends? Can I go see them?"

Jem chuckled. "Ain't gotta worry, Zane. They're probably goofing off somewhere in this settlement."

Zane stared at the bandit. "Settlement?"

"Where'd you think you were?" Jem asked with a comical look. "Dry Dry Ruins?"

Zane crossed his arms, "I assumed I was in Dry Dry Outpost..." He looked around once more, curiosity building. "But, if I'm not at the outpost... Then, where are we?"

Cloak and Jem looked to each other, before the young bandit gave Zane a canteen. "Sorry to say this Zane, but Dry Dry Outpost is a long ways away from where you are." Jem said knowingly, causing Zane to stare at him curiously. "You're in the Desert Rose Settlement... A land smack dab on the border between Dry Dry Desert... And Desert Land!"

* * *

Me: And there you have it! I FINALLY finished the next chapter of Legend of the Star Rod.

Otto: (Looks at the character Bandit Jem.) Where the hell did you get the idea for this guy?

Wally: I don't remember him...

Me: Actually boys, he's a new character, I put in. (I turn to the screen.) You see, the names Jem, Scout, and Dill, are actually references to a single book that was released back in the days of the segregated USA. (I smirk.) If any of you readers can figure out the name of the novel the three names come from... Well...

Ace: There will be a prize waiting for you!

Me: Yeah a pri- (I stop dead center.) ACE!! There will be no prize for the contest! It's just for fun!

Ace: You're no fun.

Me: Sheesh... (I turn back to the screen.) All and all, that's a wrap for this new chapter of Legend of the Star Rod. (I give a peace sign.) R&R People!

Wally, Shin, and Ace: Until next update!


	18. And into the Fire

Me: And here we go! The next chapter of Paper Mario: Legend of the Star Rod!

Shin: And for the occasion, we've called over the recently introduced character of Gantz's to see the next chapter.

(The door opens, and Jeremy Bandit, otherwise known as Jem from the previous chapter of Legend of the Star Rod, walks in.)

Jem: Hmmm… This is an interestin' place.

Wally: Hiya! You must be Jem! Nice to meet you mate!

Jem: Nice to meet ya too! Wait, wait, let me guess, pardner. (Thinks for a moment.) You're Wally, I'm guessin'?

Wally: You guessed right, mate! The name's Wally Ryu, and I welcome you to the Author's Booth!

Jem: Thanks! (He steps in…)

(Immediately after he does, two new bandits ran right into the Authors Booth, past Jem. Both of them were half Jem's height, one of them was a girl with green robes, with long brown hair poking out of her hood, and a playful smile on her mask. The other was male with light shade of dark green robes, and appeared to have a tuft of black hair poking out the top of his hood.)

Otto: What the?!

Jem: Sorry fella's, but Scout and Dill followed me here.

(The girl, Scout, Jem's little sister, smiled as she looked around.)

Scout: Yeah! (Gives Jem a hard look, while crossing her arms.) Someone needed to keep an eye on you, Jem. Your about as hard-headed as they come.

(The male bandit, Dill, put his hands behind his head in a lounging fashion.)

Dill: You'd have to be to take on the desert elements, with all of them big, giant, drooling, blood-thirsty, ugly, monsters.

MMSB: None of the monsters are like that…

Otto: With the exception of the Antlion…

Shin: (Cringes.) And the robed man.

Me: Well, anyways… Time to get this next chapter underways! Take a seat kiddo's.

(Everyone sits down in a seat.)

Scout: So what's going on in this chapter, Gantz?

Me: Basically speaking, we switch between Zane, Kooper, and Bombette in the Desert Rose Settlement getting ready for an escorted trip to Dry Dry Outpost, while Mario, Goombario, and Parakarry try to find info on Dry Dry Ruins, and they get more then they bargained for when they meet a mysterious informant named Shiek. I hope you enjoy this next chapter, guys, because it took me a while to get this done. Anyways, ON WITH THE STORY!!

MMSB: Starting now. (Presses the play button.)

* * *

Chapter 17

And Into the Fire

* * *

The searing heat of the desert, is definitely one of the reasons why NO-ONE would want to get lost in this wasteland. If one SHOULD get lost, it is advisable to have plenty, if not, a LOT of water.

It had only been yesterday that Zane, Kooper, and Bombette learned that the hard way. Having barely survived a walkabout through the desert, the three found themselves in a desert settlement, completely different from where they had been trying to get to.

The Desert Rose Settlement…

From what they had learned, the Desert Rose Settlement was situated right smack dab on the border between Dry Dry Desert, and Desert Land. It was truly a treacherous environment, since the settlement was at the mercy of the desert's hot weather. The upside was it really didn't have to worry to much about the weather, since the settlement was basically a big underground cave. About the only problem the settlement had was the creatures of the desert finding the entrance.

And speaking of creatures…

The Desert Rose settlement sat in it's place in all of it's glory. Buildings looked like they were carved out of the rocks in the cave. From above the city, a rock-made, stone age looking chandelier hung from the top of the cave, which had a strange glowing mineral inside it, lighting the cave.

The town itself had this modernized stone age feel to it, and even had a slight western theme. The people of the town ranged from the people of the desert, from bandits to mice and toads. That's not to say that that's how they all were; there were Clubbas, Bob-ombs, and even a few Crayzee Daisies.

Walking down the rocky road, Zane could be seen, taking in the scenery, of this whole underground world. This place was a definite western civilization, with noticeable 18th century themes. Walking along in front of him was a bandit that Zane only recently met, by the name of Jeremy Bandit, though he preferred to be known by his nickname Jem.

As they walked, Jem pointed out every house, and building in this whole other world, naming the people that lived there, the people that worked there, and the current events that surrounded each of them, as if he knew every last person in that little place to the point of being best friends. It surprised Zane that Jem could greet each person that came by and actually know them by name. It surprised Zane, that he Jem knew every person, as if he grew up with them.

"Yes, thank you Mrs. Petals." Jem said, calling after a Crayzee Daisy, whom was tending her garden, as Zane and Jem passed. "I'll be sure to tell my sis that your daughter wants a play date! See ya!" He turned away from the Crayzee Daisy, and back to Zane. Noticing Zane's stare, he returned it with one of confusion. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Zane gave him a flabbergasted look. "How is it that you know everyone in this town? I don't think that I could even REMEMBER that many names."

Jem chuckled. "Well, this may be a settlement, but it's a small town settlement. Everyone knows everyone." He waved to a passing Bob-omb, that had gave a small greeting as he passed. "Yes, good morning to you too, Mr. MK!" Upon doing that, he turned to Zane. "I've lived my entire life in this town, and the desert just outside the town entrance, and I know all the people by heart. Being the adopted son of a martial arts master helps in that regard."

Zane chuckled with a slight smirk. "That makes me wonder why I never get as much attention back in Toad Town…" He shrugged before turning back to Jem, noticing his confused look. "I'm a dojo son myself. My sensei and father is the master of the Toad Town Dojo."

Jem nodded, recognizing that title. "Yeah, my pa mentioned him once. He sounds pretty tough. Have you ever fought him?"

A surprised look passed Zane at that point. "Are you crazy!? I may be his son, but I'm not about to fight Sensei! I've seen him fight at his full power before, and it didn't end well for his opponent." A visible wince crossed his face. "The poor gus was in the hospital for, at least, two months before he was finally released."

"Ouch. That's tough." Jem said, wincing himself.

Zane smiled awkwardly. "Tell me about it. When I saw that fight, I never wanted the chance to fight Sensei. He tried to offer up a challenge to me, but I turned it down flat. I'm not strong enough to fight him."

"I know just what you mean." Jem said with an equally awkward look. "I feel like I'm not strong enough to fight my pa yet, but he's the only able bodied fighter in the dojo, so I have no choice." He looked over the town. "He whups me everytime I try to turn it into an actual fight. So I pretty much took the cue." He moved his shoulder around in a small circle. "The fights toughen me up though, which comes in handy when I go out into the desert to scout around."

Zane smiled in an embarrassed fashion. "I thank you that you do that job too. Me and my friends would've probably been Cobrat and Lizard food if you didn't find us."

Jem smirked in a smug fashion. "I do my job well, cause everyone else has to. Our survival out here depends on it." After a moment of smugness, the face dropped, replaced by a suspicious one. "And speaking of survival, what were you doing out in the middle of the desert anyways? I know you were sent WAY off course by a tornado monster, but what were you doing in the region to begin with?"

Zane groaned, as he rubbed his temples. "It's a long and complicated story. But I'll tell you." At that word, he sat down at the side of the road. "You might want to sit down, this could come as a shock."

As soon as Jem did, Zane began. "Now, what do you know of the outside world?"

Jem frowned slightly. "Not much… I know a few things… Just not much."

"Okay…" Zane said, nodding in understanding; This place WAS pretty secluded, so it made sense. "What do you know about Princess Peach, Bowser, or the Star Rod?"

* * *

Meanwhile in another part of the city, children were running around in a large fenced in area, with various playground equiptment. The children laughed, screamed, and yelled, generally having as much fun as they could. They WERE outside of a SCHOOL after all.

Among the children, one could see Kooper messing around with them, playing a game of soccer. He swerved right, and kicked the ball to another player. "Dill! It's coming right at you!"

The bandit he called to was a young man with light shade of dark green robes, a tuft of black hair poking out of the top of his hood and appeared to be half Jem's height. This bandit, named Dill, quickly caught the ball between his feet, and was soon moving along the field. "Thanks Kooper!" He called as he ran off. Though Dill wasn't athletic by nature, Kooper was able to talk him into playing a round or two. And let me tell ya, he was enjoying every moment of it.

Right along with them, playing on the opposite team, Bombette, and the other female players, were playing against Kooper, Dill, and the other males of the school; a classic clash of the sexes match. Bombette quickly blocked another player before Dill could pass. "Sorry pal! Not today!"

Back with Dill, he was suddenly blocked by another bandit. This one being a female, with a light green robe, and long brown hair poking out of her hood; she had a competitive smile on her face, showing a somewhat tom-boyish personality. "Goin' somewhere Dill?"

Dill grinned lightly, liking the challenge. "Yeah, I am! And that's right past you!" He looked to his left to see Kooper shoot past another female player, whom was a Crayzee Daisy, and was open for a pass. "Comin' atcha Kooper!!" He shouted as he kicked the ball over to him.

Kooper easily got to the ball and was immediately off down the field. Along with him, two young boys, one a scruffy looking Toad, and the other a gangly Clubba, were acting as his defense as they flanked him side by side. Another girl, this one being a young bob-omb, quickly tried to get in the way, but the scruffy toad went off to the left, letting Kooper kick the ball over to him. He immediately dodged around another girl and kicked it right over to the clubba, whom had also seperated away from Kooper.

The Clubba would've caught it, if Scout hadn't have rushed out of nowhere, and grabbed it before he could. She turned her head, and blew a raspberry out at the clubba. "Sorry Walter! No scores while I'm on the field!"

The clubba, Walter, was soon after Scout, as well as every other male player on the field.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the field, Zane and Jem had just arrived. The two dojo kids sat themselves down on the seats and watched the game as it went on.

Jem had a look of nervousness on his face that was hidden by a somewhat stiff frown. "Is that what's going on, in the outside world?" He asked, turning to Zane, whom had taken an interest in Scout's playing skills on the Soccer field.

"Fraid so..." Was Zane's blunt reply. He turned back to Jem. "We were traveling with Mario in this region because a Star Spirit was hidden here by Bowser. We got seperated from him when one of those tornado monsters you mentioned came out of nowhere and sent us flying." Only a few moments ago, Zane had explained the situation to Jem, who listened with fearful fascination. The Star Rod, Star Spirits, Bowser's current powers, Peach's current situation; yes, everything was told... All except for one-no, two details.

The appearance of the strange creature that Zane had labled the Antlion... ... ...

And his nightmarish dreams, both when the quest began and right now...

During his unconcious sleep, he had another frightening nightmare. Both an assurance and a curse, seeing as how dreams bring about the insinuation that your still alive somewhat, and a curse since it was a nightmarish vision, rather then a replay of memories or even scenes completely unrelated to reality.

A sigh caught Zane's attention. He turned to see Jem crossing his arms, looking quite frustrated. "Truth be told, I knew of Bowser already, and his annoying habit of kidnapping the princess." He shook his head, looking rather angry. "It makes me wonder why our world has to have such bad people like that darned koopa. Sometimes I just wish that he would just leave things alone for once. I get enough news from passing travelers in Desert Land to fill out a novel, and most of it has to do with that stupid tyrant."

The toad nodded in response. "Yeah, I know what you mean. But just wishing isn't going to solve our problems now." He looked out to the field. "Right now, me and my friends need to find some way to get back together with Mario and the others and try to plan out our next move."

Jem thought a moment. "Hmmm..." This went on before he snapped his fingers. "Why don't we try Dry Dry Outpost? That IS where you said you were going before right?" Zane nodded. "Then, if I heard the news about Mario correctly, he must've found some way there by now."

Zane nodded a little. "It would make sense if he did. Mario IS a survivor."

"GOAL!!"

Both Jem and Zane turned to see that Scout had managed to get the ball past the goalie on the boy's side of the field. "Told you I'd make a goal! I told you!" Scout said with an air of cockiness.

"Way ta go, girl!" Bombette cheered as she jumped up and down.

Kooper panted a little, having been unable to keep up with the speedy and energetic Scout. "Man, that bandit kid is fast..."

Dill was also panting, having put up a good chase with Scout, but failed to stop her all the same. "Scout IS the fastest girl in our school, one can't deny that..."

Zane shook his head, from where he watched. "Some sis you got there, Jem ole buddy."

Jem scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, you can say that. Scout's always been an athletic girl, but she rarely does sports."

Far be it from Zane to question the weird ways of Jem's family. The toad stood up and turned to Jem. "So, you got any good ways to get to Dry Dry Outpost from here?"

Deciding to put off the earlier topic, Jem thought a moment. "We usually walk to get to different places. But, I don't think that's gonna work since we never walk more then a few miles away from the settlement entrance."

Sighing, the toad smacked his forehead. "I sorely hope you've got some other idea."

Getting up himself, Jem walked past Zane, as he continued to think. "I'll have to get back to you on that." Placing a hand on Zane's shoulder, he lead the toad to the side fence where the school kids were leaving the field, including Bombette and Kooper. "We might as well focus on the here and now, and tell your friends. At the very least, we'll have some more help on brainstorming a way to your destination."

Zane knew that the bandit was right.

They were stuck in this place for the time being, and until they came up with a new idea, they'd probably be staying there a while.

As they walked over to where Kooper and Bombette were, Zane lowered his head. "I hope Mario's having better luck then we are..."

* * *

"Excuse me, We're looking for Dry Dry Ruins, could you hel-"

The mouse only walked right past Goombario, giving absolutely no second thought.

Goombario growled slightly, before calming himself down. "How come nobody's helping us?"

Parakarry, whom was along with the goomba boy, looked down at him and shook his head. "They probably think we are not worth helping out."

After helping themselves to their meal in the restaurant, the group had decided to split up to cover more ground. Mario had went off to the eastern end of town in the hopes that they could find some informants that would be happy enough to help them. Meanwhile, Goombario and Parakarry stayed in the western end of town hoping for just the same thing. There thoughts on the topic were simple enough, Dry Dry Ruins SHOULD be easy to spot they thought, if they knew where it was, and Zane and the others would try to head there themselves. The gang's best bet was to find Dry Dry Ruins and hope for the best. So far however, no-one in this town wanted to help a couple of strangers to the region, and only continued on thier usual daily schedule.

"What is it with these people?" Goombario asked in frustration. "Would it be too much to ask, to get some information?" He shook his head, before turning to Parakarry. "What are we gonna do?"

Parakarry shrugged, helplessly. "I wish I knew..."

However, the answer to their question suddenly came.

"Hey Dan."

Both Goombario and Parakarry turned to see two individuals, a Mouse and a Toad standing behind them secretly exchanging some details. "Yeah? What's up Larry? You do know that I have business to take care of." Goombario and Parakarry turned to each other and shrugged before listening in.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but listen, have you heard about that new girl in town?" Larry asked; he appeared to be a mouse with green fur, with a travelers cap on his head. "The one that has that... Special ability?"

Dan thought a moment; he was a toad that had the typical Dry Dry Outpost attire, baggy white clothes, and a musty white turban. "Oh yeah, I heard of her. Supposed to be some kind of seer from what I hear." Goombario and Parakarry looked to each other confused. "Supposed to be a mage skilled in 'Luck charms'..." After a second of thinking he gave his friend a small stare. "Wasn't she a member of the Merlin clan? I think I remember hearing that, but I wasn't too sure, if I heard right."

Goombario and Parakarry leaned in closer. "Yeah, I believe she was. Her name was Merlee." After a moment, Larry shook his head. "But forget that! Listen Dan, do you remember what people say about Merlee's luck charms?" Dan nodded, "Well they were telling the truth! I went to Miss Merlee yesterday and asked her for one of her charms..." He reached into his pocket, "I'm glad I did too! I went out of town a little bit to fight off some bandits, and look at what one of those miserable scoundrel's drop when I kicked their butts!" With a single movement, he yanked out a sack that seemed filled to the brim; jingling was apparent around the bag, making one know it was filled with gold coins. "Must've been all their loot from the past 5 weeks!"

Looking at the sack, Dan honestly looked surprised. "Impressive..." Shortly before scoffing. "But it's coincidence."

The two begin to walk off, Larry's newly earned money bag jingling in his pocket. "Coincidence?! What makes you think that?!?"

As they did, Goombario and Parakarry looked to each other with raised eye-brows. "Luck charms?" Came Parakarry as he did this. "What do you think of this, Goombario?"

The only response that came from the goomba was a small "Hmmmm... ... ..."

* * *

With Mario, his luck wasn't any better then Goombario's and Parakarry's; so far, everyone in this town has either ignored him and walked away, or shared a few impatient words BEFORE walking away still. "Hmph... This is some town, just walking away when someone asks for some information." Huffing, Mario continued down the street looking rather dour.

"I mean, I'm supposed to be known around the Mushroom Kingdom, not like I expect much." Shrugging this off, he crossed his arms, as he appeared to finally reach the eastern wall of the city. "Great, end of the road. Better get back to the others..." After a second, the plumber groaned a little. "But still, what's it gonna take to get some information in this city?"

"Information you say?"

Turning quickly, Mario saw what appeared to be a nomadimouse, wearing a deep brownish grey cloak, with a brown hat atop his heads, almost completely shielding his face from view, though what could be said about this mouse was the fact that he had dark green fur. The Nomadimouse kept the cloak in front of his face, as he looked to Mario, his face shaded out. Mario raised an eyebrow at the creature. "Who are you?"

Still keeping his face partially hidden, the Nomadimouse chuckled a little. "Forgive me, but I couldn't help but overhear your little... Rant." He motioned to himself mysteriously. "If you wish to find information, then look no further then I. I am known by many as 'Sheek'." Clearing his throat he continued. "You look like a nice man, perhaps I can entrust you with some words of wisdom."

Mario walked over quickly, giving the mouse a confused look. "Really, you will?" A confused look came on Sheek's face upon hearing this. "Sorry, but I've been asking around town all day trying to find clues on how to get someplace. But everyone's pretty much blown me off."

Sheek shook his head a little at this. "Forgive the people of Dry Dry Outpost; they just have busy lives." He shrugged a little. "You understand. So, what information do you seek?" Before Mario could ask however, the Nomadimouse held out his hand. "Forgive me, but you must understand that good information doesn't come cheap."

Understanding, Mario reached for his pockets and pulled out a few gold coins. "Oh no-no. Again you misunderstand." Came Sheek once more, confusing Mario a lot.

"Well if you don't want money, what is it you want?" Mario pocketed his change before anyone else could notice.

Smiling, the mouse brought the cloak closer to his face, as if it was a veil. "I have no need for money, you see. What I really want is something... Nice." He looked back to Mario, giving him a small stare. "What do you have to eat? That works."

Mario, after a second, reached into his supply bag, and pulled out a Super Shroom. "Will this work?"

... ... ... ... ...

"It will suffice." Sheek took the Mushroom, before swiftly squirelling it away in his robes. "What is it you wish to know?"

It was at this that Mario thought carefully, he would need to word this carefully if he wanted to learn ANYTHING. "I need to find out where I can find Dry Dry Ruins. Would you happen to know where it is?"

... ... ... ... ...

The look on Sheek's face would've been almost comedic if you could see it in it's entirety. "Dry Dry Ruins you say?" He quickly regained his cool however, and thought a moment. "You do realize that's a myth correct?"

Otherwise surprised at this, Mario continued. "Well not from what I heard. Listen, I don't mean to scare you or anything, but do you know what's been going on in the Mushroom Kingdom lately?" Sheek looked like he knew, but was going to let Mario explain anyways. "Well you see, Bowser's kidnapped Princess Peach, but to do that he needed the Star Rod. You see, Paisano, he's hidden a Star Spirit in Dry Dry Ruins if what I heard is true." It was silent a few seconds before Mario continued. "That's why I need to find it. It's important that I do."

Sheek considered this a moment... ... ... "Well... You seem trustworthy..." Finally after a second, he nodded. "Okay, I understand." Mario smiled at this, "Regardless however I don't know where to find Dry Dry Ruins." A frown came to the plumber's face... Before Sheek finished with, "But I do know someone who does..."

* * *

After asking various dryite's (The Toads wearing the turbans), and Nomadimice, Goombario and Parakarry had finally learned where to find this mysterious Merlee. Not too far away from Mario as it turned out, the three joined back together after Mario had finished his talk with Sheek. "So what did you find out?" Came Goombario as the three approached a nearby alleyway.

Mario frowned a little bit, before getting into his explanation. "That guy back there, his name's Sheek, said that the guy we're looking for is someone named 'Moustafa'. Apparently he's a descendent of the guy who built Dry Dry Ruins or something like that." He shakes his head as he finished with, "But when I asked him where we could find Moustafa, he said he'd only tell me if I found him the 'nicest of nice things'."

Goombario rolled his eyes. "Well that sounds reasonable... How are we supposed to know what the nicest of nice things is anyways? An item like that depends on someone's oppinion, and not everyone's oppinion is the same." Groaning, he sat down on the ground. "Before you ask, me and Parakarry haven't had any luck either." He then jumped back to his feet grinning up a storm. "We HAVE however, found out about a member of the Merlon family living here."

Pointing to a nearby alleyway, Parakarry took the explanation from there. "Her name is Merlee. Apparently she makes a living by charming her customers with spells that grant good luck." Mario was giving Parakarry a curious look at that. "I'm pretty skeptical myself, but the least we can do is look into it. We don't have very many leads to follow anyways, and if anyone can help us, I'll put my money on him or her being a member of the Merlon clan."

A nod of agreement was Mario's response. "Yeah, I agree." Looking to the alleyway, he could've sworn he heard some kind of chat from there, but put it off. "Well... Let's check it out."

Just as soon as Goombario and Parakarry agreed to this, the three started through the alley. The alley way was a relatively short walk, but as the gang drew closer, the odd chanting Mario had heard earlier...

_"..... Merlee... beat... well... spell... today... okay!"_

Hearing this odd chant, the group finally found the end of the hallway like alley...

What awaited them was an opening between the adobe brick huts, that seemed about 16 feet wide all around. Near one end of the opening was an odd purplish pink tent with yellow streaks, and something appeared to glow around the front of it. When at last the light died down, a light blue nomadimouse walked away, looking a bit disorientated, yet Jolly at the same time. "Wow... What a ride..." The mouse muttered as it left.

Now standing at the front of the tent was a young woman wearing pinkish robes that definately looked similar to Merlon's; out of the front of the hood their poked some blonde hair, and their appeared to be a veil around the area wehre the mouth would be in the hood. She appeared to smile. "Ah it feels good to entrance; I almost feel I want to dance!" The woman twirled around looking quite giddy.

"Um... Excuse me?"

That appeared to snap the woman out of her giddiness, as she turned to look at Mario and his crew. Eying each one, she felt a smile creep on her face. "Ah Mario and crew; Of your coming arrival I knew." She giggled. "I am the pretty Merlee; A cuter gal you'll never see!"

This seemed to throw the three of them off a second... What was WITH the rhyming? "Um, It's nice to meet you, Merlee." Mario said after a seconds pause. "How did you know we were coming?"

The girly Merlon clan member appeared amused by this. "I'm a member of the Merlon clan; There's not a thing we can't do, silly man!" Merlee appeared to sit down upon saying this. "I knew you would come you see; A charm you want to set you free! Of course, you should know it does not come free."

The others joined Merlee in sitting down once they were directly across from the girl's cards which were sat directly on the ground before them. "I figured that." Came Mario with a sense of urgency. "But before anything I want to know, what is it your spells do exactly?"

"Yeah," Came Goombario that little silly. "Care to clarify, Merlee?"

_

* * *

_

**_[..................... DOH!!!! NOW SHE'S GOT 'ME' RHYMING THAT LITTLE GOOSE!!!!!! MUST STOP... BEFORE I BECOME... DR. SEUSS!]_**

**_

* * *

_**

Merlee appeared to giggle at this. "I thought that was obvious, little boy; I cast luck charms, don't be coy!" She appeared to wave her index finger back and forth. "You're luck has steered you well; for I'm a master of spell. Trust me, my friends; after this you'll be thankful to no end! For cute little me, is about to help you you see!"

"Do you have to rhyme all the time?" Came Goombario looking curious.

"You're rhyming too, little youth; no need to act uncouth."

"......... Ah, DARNIT..."

Merlee tittered at Goombario's annoyance.

A clearing of one's throat was heard, before Merlee turned to Parakarry. "All of that aside, Merlee. Do you think you can help us? You see, we're trying to find Dry Dry Ruins, and so far, we can't find anybody who can tell us... Much less anybody who's actually willing to help us."

Mario chose that time to chime in. "It's very important that you help, Merlee, a Star Spirit is trapped inside Dry Dry Ruins, and we need to find it as soon as possible."

All was silent a moment, as Merlee considered this.

"These are grave tidings that you bring; so grave in fact I cannot sing." She appeared a little stressed at this... For but a moment. "But find Moustafa you must; and you won't have to worry about dust!" Her smile returning, she flipped over a few cards; They appeared to be tarot cards. "Moustafa is easy to find; All you must do is act kind. Sheek is the one you seek, for he knows where you must peek!"

A groan came from this. "But Moustafa wants the 'nicest of nice things' or something like that... And how are we supposed to know what that is, much less get it to him?"

"Do not worry, do not despair! For my magic will help you there!" She said in an almost sing song fashion. "When my spell upon you glows, you might get lucky, but who knows?" She appeared to set the rest of the cards down.

After a second, Mario shrugged. "Well... We've already tried everything else..." There was another silence before, "Okay Merlee, sign us up! Maybe a little more luck is just what we need."

Merlee appeared happy about this. "Yay I say to thee! You will not regret this says me!" She held out her hands. "20 coins is all I ask, then you will get to bask- in the lifetime of chance," Mario handed her two blue coins, effectively covering the cost. "To watch my cards dance!"

Mario and the others raised their eyebrows at this; 'Watch her cards... Dance?'

They couldn't ask however as Merlee got to her feet, and twirled around three times, a mysterious rythm filling the air. With that done, she turned and faced the others, her hands glowing with a pinkish almost etheral light.

Almost immediately, the alleyway was taken up by the light, and suddenly the cards started flying about in mid-air! "Huh?" That was about the time when Mario felt himself suddenly lift off the ground himself. "Wh-wh-wh-whoa!!!" Trying to keep his balance, he started flapping his arms desperately like wings. Goombario and Parakarry joined him in mid-air a little after.

"WHOA..! What is this?!?" Came Goombario's voice over the mysterious tune.

_"Now come right in and take a seat, cause Merlee's charms just can't be beat!"_

The trio turned to see Merlee, keeping her hands glowing, was dancing a little as she chanted this almost cheerleader like chant. "What the heck?" Asked Parakarry confused.

_"In all your travels may you be well, once I cast my great good luck spell!!"_

Around that time, the cards seemed to enlarge in size. "WHOA!!!"

Engulfed by the rectangles, the three seemed to be merged with the cards, as the enlarged cards shuffled themselves into a deck all by themselves. When at last they were freed, they slowly lowered to the ground, a bright purplish light covering them. Everyone looked kinda dizzy, with the general exception of Mario. "What the-..?" Came Goombario, dizzier then a Fuzzy.

_"For coming here to see me today, may you always ever be okay!!!"_

The group finally touched down after Merlee finished this little chant, and the light entered into each of them...

* * *

Goombario and Parakarry stumbled around dizzily, as if they had touched a Fuzzy from Yoshi's Island. With Mario however, he looked to Merlee to find her smiling widely. "Teeheeheehee! I think you'll find my power, might get your foes to cower. It will light you're darkest hour." Following her hand motions, the cards returned to her hand. "Even should you meet a beast... Do not fear not in the least! My spell makes a famine feast!"

Mario looked to his friends to find them on the ground, near passed out from dizziness. "Are you sure Merlee?"

"Jest I do not; After all my spell you have caught! My magic is with you now, lucky; And it will help you find your quarry!" Merlee winked in a cute fashion upon saying this. "So stay sharp as a tack; my spell shall help with the slack!"

It took a moment, before Mario nodded in understanding. "Okay, thanks Merlee. Really thanks for the help." Stumbling a little, he regained his senses, before helping his friends off their butts. "Come on guys, let's get going, hopefully we'll be able to find something now."

"Co-o-o-oming Mario." Came a dizzy Goombario. Parakarry even apted to walk since he had yet to regain his sense of balance.

As they left, Merlee waved them off cheerfully. "See you then. Please come again. Goodbye my friend!" She continued waving a second, after they were gone... ... ...

"Did you see them Meriee? You're search has come to an end you see."

After a second, out of the shadows, Meriee appeared, looking to the way out of the alley. "I thank you kindly for helping me Merlee." She turned to the older Merlon clan girl with a shy look. "I can't believe it took me so long to find them on my own..."

Merlee smiled at this, "Fear not sister dear, now you have no reason to tear. We have found the one's you seek, no need to feel weak."

Meriee appeared to take this in a moment... After a second, she seemed to relax a little. "Th-thank you Merlee... I know you're trying to cheer me up, but I still have a job to do." She turned to Merlee and bowed to her a little. "I thank you for your help." After a second of bowing, Meriee started walking after them.

"Are you sure you'll be alright? You know you're not good in a fight." Merlee had dropped all cutesy stuff and sounded quite concerned. "When shall you tell us of your dreams? Surely you are bursting at the seams."

It was a kind gesture that Merlee was offering, to help her and all that... But Meriee knew... No-one needed to know. Not yet. "I will tell you when I find the one named Zane T. and get the chance to talk to him." She turned to Merlee, smiling shyly. "After all, that's what family is for Merlee. Soon enough you all shall see. And when it happens, may we know peace, for I shall give the final piece." Merlee grinned at this.

"You have been practicing, great! And I hope when I next see you, you shall be on a date!"

Meriee blushed. "With who?"

Merlee tittered. "Zane T. of course! After all why else go on a journey with so little force? You Meriee, are not driven by prophecy; you are driven by love, I'm not blind, I can see!"

Meriee, blushing profoundly all the while, left her sister where she sat...

Oh... If ONLY she knew...

* * *

Meanwhile back at the Desert Rose...

There was the sound of a door creaking as it opened, and someone turned on the lights.

Revealing the place entered into as a dojo, we turn our attention to the door, and see Jem, Zane, Kooper, Bombette, Scout, Dill, and ole Sensei Cloak enter the house. Once inside, Scout closed the door behind old Cloak, to which the man grunted a little. "Thank you Scout for getting the door." Scout nodded cutely as the old man took a seat. "Now anyways, let's get down to business..." Looking between Jem, Zane, Bombette and Kooper. "I understand from my son Jem that you need transportation to Dry Dry Outpost correct?"

A nod was the response. "Yes sir." Zane bowed a little in respect. "Me and my friends need to get there and find some other friends of ours, we're on important business you see." Cloak nodded, apparently he had already known this.

"I see." With this said, the old bandit's fingers enterlaced with each other, and he appeared to think a moment. "Jem has told me of your quest; recollecting the Star Spirits with the help of the great Super Mario sounds like a very noble venture, young trainee." After a moment, he continued, "You said you came from Toad Town, correct?" Zane nodded, prompting a smile to appear. "Heh, that would explain your _gi_. You're from the dojo in that town, that much I can see. How is the old master there? It has been a while since I have last seen him."

Kooper raised an eyebrow at this, "You know the master at the Toad Town Dojo?"

Cloak nodded. "Oh yes, we were very good friends back in the day. We trained together on normal occasion along with another man named Jinx... Ah, those were the days." He cleared his throat after finishing. "That aside, how is he?"

With a grin, Zane answered this. "He's still in very good health, even if his coughs and wheezes says otherwise." He shrugged, "He's taken in two other students along with me, named Chan and Lee, and they've grown pretty strong themselves."

The old man appeared delighted to hear this. "That's good to know. It will take a lot more then a simple ailment to put that old goat out of commision it seems." Chuckling at this, he continued, "Regardless, I am glad to hear he is well. We have always been good friends, him and I... But that aside, we must still think of a way that you may cross our great desert."

"Th... That isn't the only problem sir..." Bombette spoke up awkwardly turning all attention to her. "I... Well you see... I never trained myself in how to be heat resistant... If I walk out in that sun, I'm gonna end up blowing up in everyone's faces." She lowered her head. "We... We also need a way that I can stay out of the sun." Turning her head in shame she finished with, "Sorry..."

A comforting hand was placed on Bombette's head (Well she lacked visible shoulders) coming from Kooper. "Hey, don't blame yourself Bombette, no-one's blaming you for what happened." Bombette didn't look too convinced.

"Putting that aside, we should start thinking about how you can cross the desert on your own." Jem spoke up, "A magic carpet would be a good idea, but I really don't know where we can find one. The nearest Carpet rental is further on in Desert Land, likely hundreds of miles from here... And we don't really have any other means of transportation, by my last reckoning." This cued a groan from the boy, "I'd suggest walking but the path between Mt. Rugged and Dry Dry Outpost is too far away to reach by foot."

Kooper spared a look at his sunburnt skin, cringing. "Besides that's what we did and we nearly died cause of it." Zane and Bombette nodded, knowing this all too well.

Right after hearing that, there came an excited call from Dill. "Oh-oh-oh! Me-me! I know a way!" He had a hand raised excitedly, looking rather giddy. Cloak chuckled a little at the boy's enthusiasm, before pointing to him. Smiling widely, the boy took a deep breath. "There is a Magic Carpet you can use!"

A quit, curt sound of someone clearing her throat was heard, before Scout walked up. "Dill, you better not be talking about the Magic Carpet that's oned by that Red Bandit Guild. Those guys won't give us the time of day, much less let us borrow their magic carpet." She groaned. "What makes you think their gonna let us use it, if we ask them?"

"Who says you gotta ask?" Dill responded right back, grinning mischievously and almost sounding devious.

Upon noticing the others lifting their eyebrows in confusion, Jem decided to clarify. "There's a gang of bandits that don't live too far away from here called the 'Red Bandit Guild'. Their leader owns a somewhat new Magic Carpet that he rides whenever he feels like it." He grunted angrily. "They're always coming here to raid us of our food and supplies, even though they have more then enough supplies of their own. Peh, the jerks..."

"Yeah no kidding!" Scout stuck her tongue out at seemingly no-one.

Dill only continued, elbowing Scout's arm. "Come on guys, just imagine it. If we can take the carpet it would be SOO Sweet for payback wouldn't you think? I mean come on! Those guys don't go anywhere without their leader."

One could almost swear a wily grin passed Cloak's face. "That does sound like a good idea, Dill. In fact, it could get them off our backs for a while... However, their current hideout is around 20 miles away from here. Walking there would be quite the trip, and those bandits uses Ostro's to help them do it." He sighed. "That makes getting to the carpet very difficult..."

All was lent a moment... ... ... ... ... ...

**"CITIZENS OF THE DESERT ROSE SETTLEMENT!!!!! RELINQUISH YOUR FOOD AND YOUR SUPPLIES RIGHT NOW, OR WE, the 'RED BANDIT GUILD' SHALL BEGIN PILLAGING YOUR PATHETIC COLLECTION OF COBBLESTONE AND SAND!!!!"**

Everyone jumped at this proclamation, before running over to the window.

Standing just outside the house was an army of Bandit's keeping close watch on the main street. The most prominent factor about them was ultimately redundant since they were all wearing Red. However, what really caught Zane and the others attention was the fact that a Magic Carpet was parked at the cave town's gates, and it looked rather fancy with it's car like seats and doors sitting on the top of the rug, the car top given a shwanky red paintjob. Possibly so it would match the clothes of the person riding in it. The person in the parked flying carpet appeared to be a middle-aged bandit, with regal looking red robes with yellow trims and golden buttons. His mask also seemed more fancy then most normal bandits. He appeared to be carrying an mega-phone, thus explaining why one could hear his voice from clear across the city. **"THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING, PIPSQUEAKS!!!! EITHER GIVE US YOUR SUPPLIES OR PEOPLE GET HURT!!!"**

The others just stared out the window a moment... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Well..." Zane began... ... A few seconds before cracking his knuckles, an insidious grin appearing. "This makes our job a WHOLE LOT easier."

* * *

Me: Well guys, I hope you enjoyed! That's another chapter of Paper Mario; Legend of the Star Rod, completed and noted!

Ace: (Is staring at the screen with a blank expression... ... ...) That's it..? That's the end of the chapter?

Me: Pretty much.

(All is silent.)

Ace: (Gives me a look of the deepest loathing.) I HATE YOU...

Me: (Holds up my hands defensively.) Hey Sorry, but the chapter was starting to get sorta long. And besides, I thought you LIKED Cliff hangers.

Ace: (chuckles.) Of course, I do, but still your cliffhangers are just evil.

Jem: Anyways glad you could have me over to watch this, Gantz. It was a pretty good show. And again, I'm sorry the brats came with me.

Me: (Waves a hand dismissively.) Ah don't worry about it. I love kids. (Waves to the two.) It was nice meeting you Scout, Dill. Hope we get to have you over again, maybe next time we'll be able to play some baseball.

Scout: (Jumps up and down giddily.) You betcha Gantz, I can't wait for our next visit!

Wally: (Was cracking up a little.) Did you really have to put in a Dr. Seuss reference there mate? It didn't help anything during the Merlee scene.

Me: Well I figured, ah what the heck, I'm dying and going to heaven anyways, so if I'm gonna make a rhyming joke, I'm not just taking it all the way, I'm taking it the extra mile. (Sweatdrops.) I'm not sure how people will react to that scene, Merlee's writing was somewhat played by the ear. Sure I caught her downpat, but something could've went wrong anywhere.

Ace: Ah don't yourself up Gantz, you got this chapter UP at least. That has to account for something.

Me: Hey... .......................... You're right! I did get this chapter up!!!!!!!!!! WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 'I AM THE CHAMPION', HOLLER IF YA CAN HEAR ME!! CAN YA DIG IT SUCKERS?!?!?!?!?!

(Everyone exchanges looks as I continue to dance around like a nut.)

Otto: You just HAD to get him started did you?

Me: HAHAHA!! CHOKE ON THAT OTTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!... ... ... ... (Realizes what I had just said, and who I said it too... and said person looked ticked.) OH SH-

(KABOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A gargantuan hole is blown into the side of the building, making this the third time in this darn Fanfiction that the Author's booth has been destroyed.)

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[R&R Everyone!]

[Until next update!]


	19. ANNOUNCEMENT

ATTENTION ALL FANS OF THE LEGEND OF THE STAR ROD;

If you guys look back at previous chapters and find that they are suddenly being edited, it is because I AM returning to this story. However, before I can, there are several points in the story that need to be fixed up, and chapters that need to be touched up to fit some of the edits to the original story. You have no reason to fear however, fundamentally the story shall remain unchanged, it just needs some reworking. I can assure you that once that is done however, I will continue the fic from where I left off. So please bare with me until all of the edits get done.

Right now, Chapter 1 is done, and I'm currently working on chapter 2. Once all of the edits and touch-ups are done, I will replace this announcement with the newest chapter. I hope you guys enjoy the slightly new version of the story and can bare with me until the new chapter gets done! I promise you the wait will be well worth it.


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